Punta Arenas
Sandy Point Magallanes | |
|---|---|
 Top:Panoramic view of downtown Punta Arenas, from La Cruz Hills, Second:Sara Braun Palace (Palacio Sara Braun), Ferdinand Magellan Monument in Muñoz Gamero Square (Plaza Muñoz Gamero) Third:Punta Arenas Sacred Heart Cathedral, Cemetery of Punta Arenas, Fourth:Shepherd Monument, Goleta Ancud Monument, Bottom:An overview of Strait of Magellan, from Costanera area (all item from left to right) | |
|
 Coat of arms    Punta Arenas Location in Chile | |
| Motto(s): "Labor omnia vincit" ("Work conquers all") | |
| Coordinates (city): 53°10′S 70°56′W / 53.167°S 70.933°W | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Region |  Magallanes y Antártica Chilena |
| Province | Magallanes |
| Founded as | Punta Arenas |
| Foundation | 18 December 1848 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Alcalde | Claudio Radonich (National Renewal) |
| Area | |
• Total | 17,846.3 km2 (6,890.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 34 m (112 ft) |
| Population (2012 Census)[3] | |
• Total | 127,454 |
| • Density | 7.1/km2 (18/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 116,005 |
| • Rural | 3,491 |
| Demonym | Puntarenian |
| Sex | |
| • Men | 60,616 (2002) |
| • Women | 58,880 (2002) |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (CLT) |
| Area code | 56 + 61 |
| Climate | Cfc |
| Website | Official website (in Spanish) |
Punta Arenas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpunta aˈɾenas], historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, the name was changed back to Punta Arenas in 1938. The city is the largest south of the 46th parallel south and the most populous southernmost city in Chile and the Americas. Due to its location, it is also the coldest coastal city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Latin America. Punta Arenas is one of the world's most southerly ports and serves as an Antarctic gateway city. Punta Arenas is the world's southernmost city with more than 100,000 inhabitants and claims the title of southernmost city in the world, although this title is also claimed by Ushuaia in Argentina, which lies farther south but is slightly smaller than Punta Arenas.
Since 1977, Punta Arenas has been one of only two free ports in Chile, the other being Iquique in the country's far north.[4][A] Located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a small penal colony to assert sovereignty over the Strait. During the remainder of the 1800s, Punta Arenas grew in size and importance due to the increasing maritime traffic and trade travelling to the west coasts of South and North America. This city's growth was also due to waves of European immigrants, mainly from Croatia and Russia, attracted by a gold rush and sheep farming boom in the 1880s and early 1900s. The largest sheep company, which controlled 10,000 square kilometres in Chile and Argentina, was based in Punta Arenas, and its owners lived there.
Since its founding, Chile has used Punta Arenas as a base to defend its sovereignty claims in the southernmost part of South America. This led to the Strait of Magellan being recognized as Chilean territory in the Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. Punta Arenas' geopolitical importance has remained high in the 20th and 21st centuries due to its logistic significance in accessing the Antarctic Peninsula.
Since 2017, the city and its region have been on their own time zone, using summer time throughout the year (UTC−3). The city is supplied with water from the San Juan River.[5]
- ^ "Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Municipality of Punta Arenas" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^ a b c "National Statistics Institute" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ "Zona franca de Aysén tendrá características similares a las de Iquique y Punta Arenas" [Aysén free zone will have characteristics similar to those of Iquique and Punta Arenas]. La Tercera (in Spanish). 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Hidrografía Región de Magallanes". bcn.cl (in Spanish). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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