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TIERRA DEL FUEGO

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 966 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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TIERRA DEL FUEGO , an See also:

archipelago at the See also:southern extremity of See also:South See also:America, from which it is separated by See also:Magellan Strait, at the First Narrows and other points scarcely a mile wide. The See also:group lies between 52° 40' and 55° 59' S. and 63° 3o' and 74° 30' W. stretching nearly in a See also:line with the Patagonian See also:Andes for over 400 M. N.W. and S.E., between Capes See also:Pillar (Desolation See also:Island) and See also:Horn, and for about 270 M. W. and E. from Cape Pillar to See also:Catherine Point at the See also:north of the See also:main island of Tierra del Fuego. Southwards it tapers to 120 M. between Capes Horn and See also:San Diego, See also:east of which extends Staten Island, which terminates in Cape St See also:John. The boundary between See also:Argentina and See also:Chile has been settled in such a manner that Argentina holds that See also:part of the main island of Tierra del Fuego which is situated east of the See also:meridian of Cape Espiritu Santo, the frontier striking the north See also:shore of Beagle Channel about its centre; and Chile holds all the western part of the main island and the other numerous islands to the See also:west and to the south of Beagle Channel. The See also:Argentine See also:side is known as the Territory of Tierra del Fuego (including Staten Island), and the Chilean forms part of the Territory of See also:Magallanes. Although on See also:ordinary maps this region presents to the See also:eye a hopelessly confused aggregate of islands, channels and See also:fjord-like inlets, it is nevertheless clearly disposed in three main sections: (1) the main island; (2) the islands to the south, from which it is separated by Beagle Channel; (3) the islands to the west, marked off from those to the south by the Brecknock See also:Peninsula. Knowledge of these lands increased considerably during the later years of the 19th See also:century, and their reputation for dreariness has been favourably modified. The See also:climate in the eastern and southern regions is not so rigorous as was believed, there are no barren lands, the See also:soil is fertile and can support fruitful See also:industries, and the See also:aborigines are far from being so dangerous as they were once considered to be. The greater part of the main island of Tierra del Fuego is formed by the continuation of the See also:Tertiary beds of the Patagonian tableland cut by the transversal depression of Magellan Strait and by the See also:low See also:land extending from Useless See also:Bay on the west to San See also:Sebastian Bay on the east, of so See also:recent origin that there exist still some See also:salt lakes, this depression being represented in the old charts as an inter-oceanic passage for small boats. Although in 188o numerous prospectors discovered extensive deposits of alluvial See also:gold, its exploitation was not generally successful, and farms took the See also:place of mines.

By the end of the 19th century reo square See also:

miles had been occupied by See also:cattle and See also:sheep on the Argentine side, and about the same extent on the Chilean; and the cattle See also:industry proved very profitable. The undulating tableland has an See also:average height of 300 ft. above the See also:sea, and its climate, however See also:cold in See also:winter—in 1892 and 1893 the temperature reached 12.6° F.—allows of the cultivation of See also:barley, oats and occasionally potatoes, which, however, grow better along Beagle Channel. To the south the tableland is higher and more broken, being drained by the See also:Silva and Grande, among smaller See also:rivers, the Grande being navigable in some parts by small See also:craft. To the west and south-west the See also:general See also:character of the land changes; the ends of the Tertiary beds are raised in small hills and Mesozoic rocks appear, forming broken ridges of the Pre-See also:Cordillera, a name given on the See also:continent to the ridges which precede, to the east, the Andes. In this region appears the See also:Antarctic See also:forest in which pre- dominates the Fagus antarctica and F. betuloides, Drymis Wmteri, Berberis lieifolia, Pernettia, Desfonteinia and Philesia buxifolia. See also:Lake Seller and Lake Fagnano receive the See also:waters of these mountains and hills. Lake Fagnano is only 18o ft. above the sea, and its See also:depth reaches 700 ft. To the south of the lake rises the south-eastern prolongation of the Cordillera of the Andes, with ridges of a See also:uniform height of 3500 ft., in which predominate crystalline See also:schists which do not seem to be very old. Some peaks of Tertiary See also:granite break the uniformity, such as Mt Sarmiento (7200 It.), Mt See also:Darwin, of which two peaks have been measured (6201 and 7054 ft.), and Mt Olivaia (4324 ft.). Sarmiento, the culminating point of the archipelago, was generally supposed to be volcanic, but it presents such extremely precipitous flanks that John See also:Ball considered it more probably " a portion cf the See also:original See also:rock See also:skeleton that formed the See also:axis of the Andean See also:chain during the See also:long ages that preceded the See also:great volcanic outbursts that have covered the framework of the western side of South America."' See also:Sir See also:Martin See also:Conway, who ascended it, ascertained that it is,not a See also:volcano. This is altogether an alpine region with numerous See also:snow-clad summits and glaciers descending down to the sea. Deep valleys, which seem to be only the prolongation of fjords, penetrate into the chain in the southern slope where exist several harbours on which settlements have been founded.

Yendegaia, Lapatia and Ushuaia Bays are among the larger. Ushuaia is the site of the See also:

capital of the Argentine Territory, and has shown considerable development, having See also:regular communication by monthly steamers with Buenos Aires, while smaller steamers serve the different settlements along the See also:coast. Cattle farms prosper along Beagle Channel, the See also:timber industry is growing, See also:lignite seams have been discovered, and alluvial gold is washed principally at Slogget Bay. These regions, as they become more known, may even invite the See also:attention of tourists by their See also:sublime scenery. Staten Island to the east of Tierra del Fuego has been settled by the Argentine See also:government; there are a See also:prison and lighthouse at St John See also:Harbour, and a first-class permanent meteorological and magnetic station. The See also:division of the archipelago to the south of Beagle Channel includes the islands of See also:Hoste, Navarin, See also:Gordon, See also:Londonderry, See also:Stewart, See also:Wollaston and numerous islets, disposed in triangular See also:form with the See also:base on Beagle Channel and the See also:apex at the rocky headland of Cape Horn. At its west end Beagle Channel takes the name of Darwin See also:Sound, which leads to the Pacific at the Londonderry and Stewart Islands. Partial exploration in this region was conducted by the See also:French See also:Mission du Cap Horn in 1882-1883, and the See also:geological See also:foundations are granite and basic volcanic rocks. The western group of islands, demarcated by Brecknock Peninsula, includes See also:Clarence Island and See also:Captain See also:Cook's Desolation Land, with See also:Dawson Island and numerous rocks and islets. Desolation Land was supposed by Cook to form a continuous See also:mass stretching from the western entrance of Magellan Strait to See also:Cockburn Channel, but it actually consists of several islands, separated from each other by very narrow channels flowing between the Pacific and the western See also:branch of Magellan Strait. The name Desolation is given to the See also:northern member of the group terminating at Cape Pillar; the southernmost and largest island nearer to Clarence Island, is See also:Santa Ines. In other cases small surveys among these fjords have shown that several of the larger islands are cut by channels which See also:separate them into smaller ones, while elsewhere the low valleys which unite the mountains and hills are the result of See also:post-Glacial deposits that have filled part of the former channels, these islands being the summits of an old continuous See also:half-submerged See also:mountain chain.

At Dawson Island the Chilean government has established settlements, and a See also:

Roman See also:Catholic mission has carried on See also:work among the Alakaluf See also:Indians. Climate.—At Ushuaia ten years' meteorological observations' have shown a mean See also:annual temperature of 42.84° F., with a winter mean of 34.7° and a summer mean of 50.18°. These figures show that tolerably mild winters (as a whole, apart from the extremes of cold already indicated) are followed by cool summers, both seasons being accompanied by overcast skies, See also:constant and sudden changes from See also:fair to foul See also:weather; while fogs, mists, rains, snows and high winds (prevailing throughout the See also:year) endanger the See also:navigation of the intricate inland channels. The precipitation during ten years at Ushuaia has been observed to average 24.8 in. But on the southern seaward islands, under the See also:influence of the prevalent See also:westerly or south-westerly winds, it is very much heavier, and reaches 59 in. at Staten Island. See also:Fauna.—In the main island of Tierra del Fuego, the low-lying plains with their See also:rich growth of tall herbage are frequented by the See also:rhea, See also:guanaco and other animals See also:common to the adjoining mainland. In the southern and western islands the fauna is restricted mainly to foxes, bats, rats, mice, the sea See also:otter, the See also:penguin and other aquatic birds, and various cetaceans in the surrounding waters. Inhabitants.—To the three See also:geographical divisions correspond three well-marked ethnical See also:groups—the Onas of the main island, the Yagans (Yahgans) of the south and the Alakalufs of the west. With the See also:settlement of the main island, which is now sometimes called Onisia, leaving the name of Tierra del Fuego to the archipelago, the Onas tribe has become fairly known. Their origin, like that of the other groups, is obscure. Undoubtedly among these Indians are many that recall some Patagonian types; it seems that they are not the same as the See also:Tehuelche type, but that they pertain to one of the races that in earlier times existed in See also:Patagonia. Their See also:language is closely allied to that called Old Tehuelche; it is a hard, slow-spoken speech, not at all resembling the soft, rapidly-spoken language of the Yagans, which has many points ' Notes of a Naturalist in South America (See also:London, 1887).

2 Dr Chavanne, See also:

Die Temperatur . and Regenverhaltnisse Argentiniens (Buenos Aires, 1903).965 of similarity with that of the Alakalufs. The See also:isolation of the Onas is peculiarly marked, inasmuch as they are an insular See also:people who do not use boats. Their See also:life is nomadic, and they are hunters, living upon the flesh of the guanaco, and using only tussock-roots and See also:wild See also:celery for See also:vegetable See also:food. Their skill in and necessary devotion to the See also:chase influence their whole mode of life; " their moral See also:code is based upon a See also:standard of See also:physical culture and See also:health." 2 They live in small groups, every member of which is connected by See also:family ties; between these groups, as in the See also:case of the Yagans and Alakalufs, the See also:vendetta is common. They have no gods, though certain legends are preserved. They have maintained their stock untainted, and have withstood the influence of the See also:white See also:man to a remarkable degree (for example, they use no spirituous or fermented drink), though they have suffered a serious decrease in See also:numbers at his hands. The men average about 5 ft. io in. in height; the See also:women 5 ft. 6 in. They are of a See also:light See also:copper See also:colour, with See also:black straight See also:hair, and remarkably See also:muscular. The Yagans live under conditions of extraordinary rigour. In See also:order to obtain food, they venture naked in small canoes into the treacherous seas; their life is a constant See also:battle with See also:starvation and a See also:rude climate, and their character has become rude and low in consequence. They have no higher social unit than the family.

On the authority of See also:

Charles Darwin they have been held by many to be cannibals, but they are not, although those suffering from incurable ailments are often put to See also:death. Although taller than the Negritoes of the eastern hemisphere (4 ft. Io in. to 5 ft. 4 in.), the Yagans See also:present in some respects a more debased type characterized by low brows, prominent zygomatic See also:arches, large tumid lips, See also:flat See also:nose, loose wrinkled skin, black restless eyes very wide apart, coarse black unkempt hair, and See also:head and See also:chest disproportionately large compared with the extremely slender and outwardly curved legs. The missionaries, who have reduced the language to See also:writing (See also:Gospel of St See also:Luke, London, 1881), assert that it contains no fewer than 30,000 words, although the numerals stop at five, already a See also:compound form, and although the same word expresses both See also:hand and See also:finger; but it appears that a large number of the words included in this See also:total are compounds. Comparatively little is known about the Alakalufs. They have a reputation for treachery, and for assaults on shipwrecked crews. They are hunters both on land and on the See also:water, using the See also:bow and arrow like the Onas, and See also:building canoes often of large See also:size. The aborigines are decreasing rapidly in the whole archipelago, and although the Rev. See also:Thomas See also:Bridges, who, as missionary first and then as See also:farmer, resided See also:thirty years there, calculated the See also:population to be io,000 when he arrived, towards the See also:close of the 19th century it was estimated to be little more than See also:i000. Tierra del Fuego was discovered by Fernando de Magellan in 1520, when he sailed through the strait named after him, and called this region the " Land of See also:Fire," either from now See also:extinct volcanic flames, or from the fires kindled by the natives along parts of his course. In 1578 Sir See also:Francis See also:Drake first sighted the point which in 1616 was named Cape See also:Hoorn (anglicized Horn) by the Dutch navigators See also:Jacob Lemaire and Willem Cornelis Schouten (1615-'617).

In 1619 the See also:

brothers See also:Garcia and Gongalo de Nodal first circumnavigated the archipelago, which was afterwards visited at intervals by Captain Sir John See also:Narborough (1670), M. de Gennes and the Sieur Froger (1696), See also:Commodore John See also:Byron (1764), See also:Samuel See also:Wallis and See also:Philip See also:Carteret (1767), See also:James Cook (1768) and James Weddell (1822). But no systematic exploration was attempted until the See also:British See also:Admiralty undertook a thorough survey of the whole group by Philip See also:Parker See also:King (1826–1828) and See also:Robert See also:Fitzroy 1831-1836). The latter expedition (Voyage of the " Beagle") was accompanied by Charles Darwin, then a See also:young man. To these admirable surveys is due most of the present geographical terminology of the archipelago. Subsequently the work of exploration was continued by See also:Dumont d'Urville (1837), Charles Wilkes (1839), Parker Snow (1855), various later travellers, a selection of whose See also:works are quoted below, and British, See also:American and Roman Catholic missionaries. ' W. S. See also:Barclay, " The Land of Magallanes, with some See also:account of the Onas and other Indians," Geographical See also:Journal, vol. See also:xxiii. (London, 1904). Lista, " East Fuegia," in Petermanns Mitteilungen (May 1887); Mission stientifique du Cap Horn, 1882-1883 (See also:Paris, 1888); Thomas Bridges, " Notts on Tierra del Fuego," Revista del Museo de la See also:Plata (1892); See also:Otto Nordenskjold, " Ueber die Natur der Magellanslander," See also:Peter. Mitt., 43, 1897; L'Expedition suedoise a la Terre de See also:Feu (1895-1897; Wiss. Erg. der schwed.

Exped. nach den Magellonslandern, 1895-1897 (See also:

Stockholm, 1898) ; Geological See also:Map of the Magellan Territories (Stockholm, 1899) ; F. Lahille, " Fines de verano en la Tierra del Fuego," Revista Museo de La Plata (1898), vol . viii.; Sir Martin Conway, See also:Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego (London. 1902) ; R. Dabbene, " Viaje a la Tierra del Fuego y a la See also:Isla de los Estados," Bolet. Inst. Geog. Argentine (1905), See also:xx1. ; K. Skotts•• See also:berg, Vegetationsbilder aus Feuerland, &c., parts, and iv. in G. See also:Karsten and H. Schenck's Vegetationsbilder (See also:Jena, 1906); R. Crawshay, The Birds of Tierra del Fuego .(London, 1907).

End of Article: TIERRA DEL FUEGO

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