Often described as the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia is also known for its busy port and as an adventure center. It is also the capital city of the province of Tierra del Fuego and the country’s 97th largest city. It is situated in a wide bay on the southern shores of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, and has the imposing Martial mountains in the north and the Beagle Channel in the south.
According to history, 10,000 years ago, the Selk’nam Indians or the Ona settled in Tierra del Fuego. The southern group of these people called the Yaghan lived in modern-day Ushuaia. In 1870 the British-based South American Missionary Society made Ushuaia its first permanent outpost in Terra del Fuego, but the Yaghans were vulnerable to the diseases brought in by the missionary and were pushed back by the new settlers and gold prospectors. Between 1884 and 1947, Argentina declared this city a penal colony and imprisoned several notorious prisoners and criminals. Since 1950, this town has become an important naval base.
In recent times, it has expanded in a very random manner. Despite this, it continues to enjoy world attention as several Antarctica-bound ships port here. Its chief activities are natural gas, oil extraction, fishing, sheep farming and ecotourism.
It attracts a lot of wildlife enthusiasts here for its large animal life comprising local birds, seals, penguins, orcas, etc.