Última Esperanza Province is one of four provinces

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 the southern 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...

an region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena (XII). The capital is Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile...

. A section of its border with Argentina in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field

Southern Patagonian Ice Field

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field , located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile, is the second largest contiguous extrapolar extent of ice in the world...

 is under dispute.

Administration

As a province

Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

, Última Esperanza is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into two communes (comunas): Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile...

 and Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine, Chile

Torres del Paine is a Chilean commune located in the inland of Última Esperanza Province and Magallanes Region. The commune is administered by the municipality in Cerro Castillo, the major settlement in the commune...

. The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Max Salas Illanes was appointed governor by president

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

 Sebastián Piñera

Sebastián Piñera

Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...

.

Noted features

Within this province, the noted Torres del Paine National Park

Torres del Paine National Park

Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, a glacier, a lake, and river-rich areas in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes...

, Cerro Torre

Cerro Torre

Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile, west of Cerro Chalten . The peak is the highest in a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger , Punta Herron, and Cerro...

 and Cerro Chaltén

Cerro Chaltén

Monte Fitz Roy is a mountain located near El Chaltén village, in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile...

 is located, comprising some of the most spectacular mountain peaks of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Also part of the biggest non-Arctic glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field

Southern Patagonian Ice Field

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field , located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile, is the second largest contiguous extrapolar extent of ice in the world...

 is within Última Esperanza province. Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument

Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument

Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is a Natural Monument located in the Chilean Patagonia, northwest of Puerto Natales and north of Punta Arenas. The monument is situated along the flanks of the Cerro Benitez Mountains...

, where prehistoric human occupation has been documented, is also within this province.