Tierra del Fuego is named after the bonfires that the native people of the area made to protect themselves from the cold and it was the Spanish King Charles I who gave this name.
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago located at the southern end of the American continent. It is a fascinating environment, with a great history behind it and with a very notable ecological and environmental value. However, do you know Why is Tierra del Fuego called that?? If you want to find out, keep reading Evidence Network and we’ll tell you.
What is Tierra del Fuego
The Tierra del Fuego is a group of islands located right at the end south of the american continent. In this way, it is located right at the point where the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean meet. This region is famous for having the well-known Strait of Magellanwhich allows passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic without having to completely surround the archipelago of the Tierra del Fuego islands.
Tierra del Fuego is made up of a large number of islands. However, of all of them, there is one that stands out from the rest due to its size, and it is called precisely the Big Island. The Big Island of Tierra del Fuego It is located just south of the Strait of Magellan, and is the best-known place in all of Tierra del Fuego. In addition to this large island, the archipelago is made up of icountless smaller islands. For the most part, these islands extend to the east and south of the Big Island, towards the Pacific and Antarctic oceans respectively.
To which country does Tierra del Fuego belong?
The Tierra del Fuego archipelago is administratively divided between the countries of Chile and Argentinathe easternmost part corresponding to Chile and the westernmost part to Argentina. Likewise, the Big Island is divided between both nations:
- Tierra del Fuego Chile: In the case of Chile, the territory that belongs to it is constituted as the province of Tierra del Fuego (made up of the islands in the area), as well as the Antarctic region belonging to this country. The capital of the entire region is the city of Porvenir, located on the Chilean part of the Big Island.
- Tierra del Fuego Argentina: Likewise, in the case of Argentina, we would be talking about the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands. Which constitute the same territorial administration area, whose capital is Ushuaia, also located in one of the areas of Isla Grande.
In the following article we talk to you about environmental problems in Chile.
Why is Tierra del Fuego called that?
Despite what you may think, the origin of the name Tierra del Fuego It does not come from the presence of volcanoes in the area. In reality, this name is due to the European sailors who arrived in this territory around the 16th century. This name refers to the bonfires that the native peoples made to protect themselves from the cold.
This archipelago was originally inhabited by various pre-Columbian tribes. In fact, there is archaeological evidence that the area was populated for more than 10,000 years, so it can be assured that the human presence in the region is very old. Some of the tribes that populated this region during the arrival of European sailors were the Yaganes, the Kawésqar and the Patagonians, among others. These towns were quite well adapted to the climate of the area, especially the cold that characterizes the entire region. However, despite this constant cold, they had the habit of wearing hardly any clothes. This meant that these pre-Columbian peoples had acquired the custom of light many bonfires to warm up. In fact, it was common for them to carry small bonfires even on the canoes or boats they used to move between the different islands.
When European sailors arrived in the region, one of the things that surprised them most was the high presence of columns of smoke. Logical consequence of the abundance of these bonfires that the original people used to keep warm. In fact, it is attributed to the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan that reached the region in August 1520 the name of “Land of Smokes”which was the name given to the area as a result of the abundance of columns of smoke that were in the area. Later, this name would become popular, generically calling the archipelago in the south of the American continent.
Finally, it would be the Spanish king himself Charles I, the one who would modify the namechanging it from “Land of Smokes” to “Land of Fire”. This name became popular again and, in the end, it would be the name by which the entire region would be known. So, when asked about Why is Tierra del Fuego called that? the answer is that it does reference to the multitude of bonfires what the native peoples of the area did to protect themselves from the cold.
Now that you know why it is called Tierra del Fuego, you may also be interested in this article on Who are the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.
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