Patagonian Expedition Race
Location Guide - Tierra del Fuego
Will Gray (PER) / 15.02.2012
Teams are now racing towards the ‘Land of Fire’ – but what is this legendary location in Chile all about…?
Not just one island but a whole bunch, Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago that leads right down to the infamous Cape Horn – and the racers will be covering a fair bit of it on this year’s route.
The main island, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, covers an area bigger than Switzerland and is split down the middle between Chilean and Argentine territories (the race, of course, will travel through the Chilean side).
The area was named after the fires lit by the Slk’nam and Yaghan natives, spotted by Ferdinand Magellan when he passed by the area in 1520. Europeans only settled there in the gold mining and sheep farming booms of the late C19th.
The region is one of the growing tourism sectors in Chilean Patagonia – and this year’s race will showcase some of its spectacular wilderness scenery, which includes rolling hills, thick forests and mighty mountains.
[Click here to read more about Tierra del Fuego.]
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