Antártica Chilena Province
Encyclopedia
Antártica Chilena Province is the southernmost and one of four provinces
in Chile
's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region (XII). The capital is Puerto Williams
. The province is administratively divided
into two communes (comunas): Cabo de Hornos
, located at the southern tip of South America, and Antártica
, a wedge-shaped claim of Antarctica, which is not internationally recognized. Its total area of 1265853.7 sqkm makes it almost twice as large as all other provinces of Chile combined.
The Municipality of Cabo de Hornos governs both Antártica and Cabo de Hornos from Cabo de Hornos, making it the only
Chilean municipality to currently administer more than one commune.
(INE), it had a population of 2,392 inhabitants (1,518 men and 874 women), giving it a population density of 0.0019 PD/sqkm. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country.It is the largest province in the country. It is the least populated province in the country. Of these, 1,952 (81.6%) lived in urban areas and 440 (18.4%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 23% (447 persons).
to the South Pole
.
It is practically uninhabited except for research stations of various countries, although Chile maintains a permanent civilian population at Villa Las Estrellas
(near Frei Montalva Station), including women and children, a small school, and even a bank, in order to support its territorial claim of the area. The official population for the area as of the census 2002 is 130 (115 male, 15 female). This does not include the staff of non-Chilean bases in the area.
According to the Chilean argument, its claim to the Antártica Chilena Province is as old as Chile itself. The Tordesilhas Line established a west/east division of colonial territories between Portugal and Spain. On the first organization of the new conquered territories, Charles V, ruler of the Spanish Empire assigned to Pedro Sancho de la Hoz control over Terra Australis, which included the Southern part of South America, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, and all southern undiscovered territories (Terra Australis Ignota). This gobernation eventually merged with other territories in the Captaincy General of the Kingdom of Chile.
archaeological site at Wulaia Bay, which C. Michael Hogan terms the Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens.
an immigrants (esp. from British Isles
, Scandinavia
and the former Yugoslavia
) and navigators in cruise ships and fish boats. The Chilean government transplanted thousands of Chilean settlers from the central part of the country in the 20th century to increase the province's sparse population.
In the present, the human population as well livestock and the ecosystem are the only parts of the world outside the Antarctic to report near-total ozone depletion
. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Ozone hole over Antarctica has expanded into the southernmost tip of the world, and residents are advised to wear special clothing to protect their skin or stay indoors whenever possible. In certain cases once a year (the hole expands in the southern hemispheric winter but can exhibit the most UV rays in summer), human skin can burn in about five to six minutes.
Provinces of Chile
A province is the second largest administrative division in Chile, after a region. Each region is divided into provinces. There are 54 provinces in total....
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region (XII). The capital is Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region...
. The province is administratively divided
Administrative divisions of Chile
The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law....
into two communes (comunas): Cabo de Hornos
Cabo de Hornos, Chile
Cabo de Hornos is a Chilean commune located in the south of Tierra del Fuego archipelago, in Antártica Province, Magallanes Region. The municipality of Cabo de Hornos, located in the town of Puerto Williams, also administers the Antártica commune...
, located at the southern tip of South America, and Antártica
Antártica
The Chilean Antarctic Territory is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53°W to 90°W and from the South Pole to 60°S, partially overlapping Argentine and British Antarctic claims...
, a wedge-shaped claim of Antarctica, which is not internationally recognized. Its total area of 1265853.7 sqkm makes it almost twice as large as all other provinces of Chile combined.
Communes
- Commune of Cabo de HornosCabo de Hornos, ChileCabo de Hornos is a Chilean commune located in the south of Tierra del Fuego archipelago, in Antártica Province, Magallanes Region. The municipality of Cabo de Hornos, located in the town of Puerto Williams, also administers the Antártica commune...
(until 2001 called NavarinoNavarinoNavarino or Navarin may refer to:*Pylos , a Greek town, on the Ionian Sea**Battle of Navarino, 1827 naval battle off Navarino*Navarino, Wisconsin, a town, United States...
, capital Puerto Williams), area 14146 sqkm, population as of census 2002: 2,262, of which 1,952 are in the capital. - Commune of AntárticaAntárticaThe Chilean Antarctic Territory is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53°W to 90°W and from the South Pole to 60°S, partially overlapping Argentine and British Antarctic claims...
, area 1250000 sqkm, population as of census 2002: 130. This territory as a whole is not recognized internationally. (See Antarctic territorial claims.)
The Municipality of Cabo de Hornos governs both Antártica and Cabo de Hornos from Cabo de Hornos, making it the only
Exceptionalism
Exceptionalism is the perception that a country, society, institution, movement, or time period is "exceptional" in some way and thus does not need to conform to normal rules or general principles...
Chilean municipality to currently administer more than one commune.
Demography
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics InstituteNational Statistics Institute (Chile)
The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...
(INE), it had a population of 2,392 inhabitants (1,518 men and 874 women), giving it a population density of 0.0019 PD/sqkm. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country.It is the largest province in the country. It is the least populated province in the country. Of these, 1,952 (81.6%) lived in urban areas and 440 (18.4%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 23% (447 persons).
Territory recognition
The Commune of Cabo de Hornos is recognized as part of Chile; however, the Commune of Antártica, which encompasses most of the area of the province, is disputed, as it forms the Chilean claim to Antarctica, stretching south of the 60th parallel60th parallel south
The 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. No land lies on the parallel—it crosses nothing but ocean...
to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
.
It is practically uninhabited except for research stations of various countries, although Chile maintains a permanent civilian population at Villa Las Estrellas
Villa Las Estrellas
Villa Las Estrellas is a Chilean town in Antártica Commune, Antártica Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. It is located on President Eduardo Frei Montalva Base, a military base, on King George Island. It is the biggest and one of only two civilian settlements on Antarctica...
(near Frei Montalva Station), including women and children, a small school, and even a bank, in order to support its territorial claim of the area. The official population for the area as of the census 2002 is 130 (115 male, 15 female). This does not include the staff of non-Chilean bases in the area.
Prehistory
Early settlement by prehistoric man is known to have occurred from archaeological recovery within this Province. Yaghans established many settlements on the islands of the present day province of the Antártica espana Province; for example, there is a significant early YaghanYaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
archaeological site at Wulaia Bay, which C. Michael Hogan terms the Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens.
History
Puerto Williams and Porvenir were established in the late 19th century, mainly by Western EuropeWestern Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an immigrants (esp. from British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) and navigators in cruise ships and fish boats. The Chilean government transplanted thousands of Chilean settlers from the central part of the country in the 20th century to increase the province's sparse population.
In the present, the human population as well livestock and the ecosystem are the only parts of the world outside the Antarctic to report near-total ozone depletion
Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere , and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon...
. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Ozone hole over Antarctica has expanded into the southernmost tip of the world, and residents are advised to wear special clothing to protect their skin or stay indoors whenever possible. In certain cases once a year (the hole expands in the southern hemispheric winter but can exhibit the most UV rays in summer), human skin can burn in about five to six minutes.
See also
- Territorial claims in Antarctica
- Argentine AntarcticaArgentine AntarcticaArgentine Antarctica is a sector of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. The Argentine Antarctic region, consisting of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the South Pole, is delimited by the 25° West and 74° West meridians and the 60° South...
and Tierra del Fuego ProvinceTierra del Fuego Province (Argentina)Tierra del Fuego is an Argentine province entirely separated from mainland Argentina by the Strait of Magellan. It includes:* The eastern part of the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the Staten Island.* Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands and to... - British Antarctic TerritoryBritish Antarctic TerritoryThe British Antarctic Territory is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes and , forming a wedge shape that extends to the South Pole...
- Antarctic Treaty SystemAntarctic Treaty SystemThe Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land...
- Antarctic PeninsulaAntarctic PeninsulaThe Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
- Diego Ramirez IslandsDiego Ramírez IslandsThe Diego Ramírez Islands are a small group of lesser islands located in the southernmost extreme of Chile about south-west of Cape Horn and south-south-east of Ildefonso Islands, stretching north-south . Their land area is little more than...
- Ildefonso IslandsIldefonso IslandsIslas Ildefonso are a group of islands in Chile. The islands belong to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region...
External links
- Gobierno Regional Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Official website (in Spanish)
- Gobernación Provincia de Antártica Chilena Official website (in Spanish)
- Prensa Antártica - News of the Antártica Chilena Province
- Instituto Antártico Chileno
- Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve