This island has a special name.
Tierra del Fuego. And some say that it was once known as the Land of Smoke.
Legend has it that Magellan, after his expedition through the strait that now bears his name, remembered seeing smoke rising from the coast of this island.
When these stories reached Europe, someone decided to arbitrarily change the name to Fire Land (Tierra del Fuego).
If there is smoke, there is fire—right?
By the way, Tierra del Fuego was colonized by Europeans starting in the mid-19th century, and its population gradually grew.
Argentina and Chile had border disputes, and both sought to assert sovereignty over the territory.
In 1884, Ushuaia was founded in the southern part of the island, on the banks of the Beagle Channel.
The population grew thanks to the famous prison, which is now a museum.
Maritime traffic is of great importance, and the tourism industry attracts hundreds of tourists to this place: the end of the world and also the end of the Pan-American Highway.
Many travel from Alaska to Ushuaia or in the opposite direction. 17,000 km of adventure.
