Tierra del Fuego National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego) is a national park located on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego Island, within Tierra del Fuego Province. It is part of the Patagonian Forest and Altos Andes ecoregion, a region of subantarctic forest. The park was created on October 15, 1960, under Law 15.554, and expanded in 1966. It was the first coastal national park established in Argentina.

The park features striking landscapes, including waterfalls, forests, mountains, and glaciers. It covers an area of 630 square kilometers (240 square miles) and includes parts of Fagnano and Roca lakes. A popular hiking trail called Senda Costera (Coastal Path) connects Ensenada Bay to Lapataia Bay on Lago Roca. Lower elevations of the park have forests of Antarctic beech, lenga beech, and coihue trees, which provide habitats for many animals. The park is home to 20 species of land mammals, such as guanacos, Andean foxes, North American beavers, European rabbits, and muskrats. Among the 90 bird species found here are kelp geese, torrent ducks, austral parakeets, Andean condors, blackish oystercatchers, and Magellanic oystercatchers.

Tierra del Fuego National Park is the southernmost national park in Argentina and is classified as an IUCN category II park. It extends 60 kilometers (37 miles) north from the Beagle Channel along the Chilean border. Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, is 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the park. Visitors can reach the park by car or train. The southern end of the Pan-American Highway is located within the park, as is the El Parque station of the End of the World Train.

Geography

The park covers the southern part of the subantarctic forest and is known for its rich variety of living things.

The subantarctic forest has many trees, including coihue, nires, and lenga (a tree or shrub found in the Andes and also called lenga beech). Many other plants, such as massbed, also grow there. The "Andino-Patagonico" forests are characterized by lenga trees, which grow on mountain slopes above sea level up to 600 meters (2,000 feet). Above 600 meters, the plants are smaller, like bushes, cojin plants, and grasses.

IUCN reports that forests in the area include species of southern beech called Nothofagus pumilio, N. antarctica, and N. betuloides. Other plants include Berberis buxifolia, Embothrium coccineum, Drimys winteri (winter's bark), Empetrum rubrum (crowberry), and mosses. Magellan coihue grows in the wettest parts of the Beagle Channel coast. Lenga trees are found in the Pipo River Valley and parts of southern mountain slopes, where they may grow very tall. Chinese lantern, hemiparasite, and Pande Indian (Llao Llao) are found on tree branches. Cinnamon is also found in some forest areas. Peat bogs, made of sphagnum moss and aquatic grasses, are common in damp valleys where cold, acidic water slows decomposition.

Flowers in the area include calafate, chaura, and michay, which are orange. Flag trees, strawberry devil plants, small ferns, yellow orchids, and luzuriagas grow under forest canopies. Black bush, caulking, grill, and Embothrium coccineum (with red tubular flowers) are found along the Beagle Channel coast and parts of Lapataia Bay. The chocolate-scented Nassauvia is also present.

• Flora in Tierra del Fuego
• Drimys winteri flowers
• Nothofagus antarctica
• Nothofagus pumilio
• Nothofagus betuloides
• Calafate (Berberis buxifolia) plant west of Ushuaia

People from Europe and North America brought animals like the European rabbit, North American beaver, and muskrat to the area. These animals spread quickly and harmed the environment.

Birds in the area include three types of cauquenes (sheldgeese): cauquen comun (upland goose or Magellan goose), cauquen real (ashy-headed goose), and caranca (kelp goose), which live in open areas and on beaches. Other birds include Patagonian woodpeckers, such as the Magellanic woodpecker, herons, crested ducks, and Andean condors, which soar over Tierra del Fuego’s peaks and valleys. The austral parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) is also found here.

Aquatic life includes scallops, moon snails, spiral tooth fish, crabs, sardines, Falkland sprat, Fueguina, merluza, Robalo de cola, jellyfish, steamer ducks, and cormorants. Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and South American sea lions are also present.

Sea birds like petrels and albatrosses live here. Other animals include penguins, the South Andean deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus), and the southern river otter (Lontra provocax).

• Fauna in Tierra del Fuego
• A pair of black-necked swans in the park
• Podiceps major – great grebe – Tierra del Fuego National Park
• A Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus) near Ushuaia
• Sea lions at the Beagle Channel near Ushuaia
• Cormorant colony on the shores of the Beagle Channel

Tierra del Fuego National Park includes mountains, lakes, rivers, and valleys. It is bordered by the Chilean border on the west, Lago Fagnano on the north, and the Beagle Channel on the south. The park covers 63,000 hectares (160,000 acres) and includes two ecoregions: Altos Andes and Patagonian Forest. Altos Andes has hills and slopes, while Patagonian Forest has high, jagged mountains, glacier valleys, and semi-deciduous forests. The park’s landscape was shaped by glaciers, which created bays and beaches near rugged mountains and valleys.

The park is 11 km (6.8 miles) west of Ushuaia on National Road 3. Ushuaia is the main access point via highway or the Southern Fuegian Railway.

The Beagle Channel is named after the British ship HMS Beagle, which Charles Darwin sailed on in 1833–34. The channel separates the main island of Tierra del Fuego from smaller islands like Nueva, Picton, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry, Stewart, and others. It runs east-west for 150 miles (240 km) and varies in width from 3 to 8 miles (4.8 to 12.9 km). Ushuaia, Argentina, and Puerto Williams, Chile, are the largest settlements on the channel. Ancient middens from the Yaghan people are found on beaches around the channel.

Lago Fagnano, named after José Fagnano, is the largest lake in Tierra del Fuego. It flows south through the Azopardo River into the Magellan Strait. The lake is near the boundary of the South American and Scotia tectonic plates. It is 104 km (65 miles) long, up to 10 km (6.2 miles) wide, and 204 meters (669 feet) deep. It has a drainage area of 3,042 km² (1,175 square miles) and holds 1,000 km³ (240 cubic miles) of water.

The park has a temperate climate with frequent rain, fog, and strong winds

History

The first Europeans who explored the southern tip of South America saw the campfires of the native people living there, called the Yaghan (also known as Yámana). The Spanish explorers named the area "Tierra del Fuego," which means "land of the fires" in Spanish.

Humans lived in Tierra del Fuego as far back as 10,000 years ago. The Yaghan people survived in this harsh environment by using resources from the sea. They lived on beaches, traveled in canoes made from lenga beech trees, hunted sea lions, and collected shellfish. They built homes from tree branches and trunks and wore clothing made from sea lion hides. They used fat and grease from these animals to protect their skin from water.

The southern group of the Selk’nam, the Yaghan people, lived in what is now Ushuaia and often had conflicts with people from the northern part of the island.

In 1870, Wasti H. Stirling, an Anglican missionary, moved to the area and began converting Yaghan tribes, who were the original residents of the Beagle Channel.

During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia after hearing stories about large gold deposits, but these stories were false.

Trouble for the Yaghan people began in 1880 when European missionaries arrived. European settlers brought diseases like measles, which caused the Yaghan population to drop rapidly. By the 1990s, the Yaghan tribe had fewer than 100 people. Many were killed by European settlers during hunting exercises and poisoning to take sea lions, which were the Yaghan’s main food source. After the deaths of Emelinda Acuña and her sister Cristina Calderón in 2005 and 2022, no native speakers of the Yaghan language remain. Today, the only signs of the Yaghan people are piles of mussel shells covered in grass near the shore. Some artifacts can also be seen at the "End of the World Museum" in Ushuaia.

The Boundary Treaty of 1881 was an effort to solve a disagreement between Argentina and Chile over land ownership. The treaty stated that the border between the two countries would run from Cape Espiritu Santo on the northern shore of Tierra del Fuego to the Beagle Channel. This meant Argentina would control the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego, and Chile would control the western part. However, the treaty did not clearly define the end of the Beagle Channel, leading to disputes over land and navigation rights. This conflict, which began in 1840, nearly caused war in 1978. The Vatican helped resolve the issue, and a treaty was signed on May 2, 1985. Under this agreement, Chile kept control of the disputed islands, and Argentina gained the right to navigate near them.

In 1884, an Argentine naval base was built on the island, dividing it between Argentina and Chile.

In 1902, Argentinian President Roca created a penal colony on nearby Staten Island. Prisoners built the city, cut down trees in what is now Tierra del Fuego National Park, and laid train tracks. The train lines, 25 kilometers long, connected the prison camp to the forest area. Today, Ushuaia is a popular tourist destination, serving as a starting point for trips to the national park and Antarctica.

In late 1909 and early 1910, a railway called the Southern Fuegian Railway, also known as the "End of the World" train, was built. This narrow-gauge steam railway replaced an older wooden track pulled by oxen. The railway ran 25 kilometers along Maipú Avenue, up the slope of Mount Susana, and through the Pipo River valley into the national park. The tracks were made of 500 mm (20 in) Decauville rails and connected the prison camp to the forestry camp. The railway was used to transport prisoners and timber from the forests. The prison closed in 1947, and the railway shut down in 1952 after forest resources declined and an earthquake damaged the tracks.

Tourism

The park has many attractions, such as the Beagle Channel, the Pipo River cascade, Lago Fagnano, Lago Roca, Ensanada Bay, Lapataia Bay, the End of the World Train, and Laguna Negra.

In 1994, the train was reopened 40 years after it had stopped operating as a prison train. It was fixed up and updated with modern features, and it became a heritage train. It is said to be the railway farthest south in the world. The train uses a steam engine named Camila, which was brought from England in 1995, another steam engine made in Argentina, and three diesel engines. The park can now be reached from the Fin del Mundo station, which is 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) west of Ushuaia. The heritage railway line is about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) long and takes approximately 50 minutes to travel.