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Ushuaia

Ushuaia (uːˈswaɪ.ə , uˈswaja), is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 80,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southernmost city. Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel. It is the only municipality in the Department of Ushuaia, which has an area of . It was founded on 12 October 1884, by Augusto Lasserre and is located on the shores of the Beagle Channel surrounded by the mountain range of the Martial Glacier, in the Bay of Ushuaia. Besides being an administrative center, it is a light industrial port and tourist hub. Ushuaia is located roughly from the Antarctic Peninsula and is one of five internationally recognized Antarctic gateway cities. The word Ushuaia comes from the Yaghan language: ush and waia ("bay" or "cove") and means "deep bay" or "bay to background". The act creating the subprefecture in 1884 cites the name "Oshovia", one of the many orthographic variations of the word. Its demonym is "Ushuaiense". In Spanish the name is pronounced "u-sua-ia" (uˈswaja). The pronunciation "Usuaía" (accented on the 'i') is erroneous: the prosodic accent is on the first 'a', which is why the word is written without an accent mark. The Selk’nam Indians, also called the Ona, first arrived in Tierra del Fuego about 10,000 years ago. The southern group of people indigenous to the area, the Yaghan (also known as Yámana), who occupied what is now Ushuaia, lived in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island. For much of the latter half of the 19th century, the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego was populated by a substantial majority of nationals who were not Argentine citizens, including a number of British subjects. Ushuaia was founded informally by British missionaries, following previous British surveys, long before Argentine nationals or government representatives arrived there on a permanent basis.

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