| Tierra del Fuego Province | |
| Native Name: | Provincia de Tierra del Fuego |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Mapsize: | 175px |
| Map Alt: | Location in the Magallanes Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 175 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Coordinates: | -53.6°N -92°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Parts Type: | Communes |
| Parts: | Porvenir Primavera Timaukel |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Porvenir |
| Government Type: | Provincial |
| Leader Title: | Presidential provincial delegate |
| Leader Name: | Karim Fierro Brstilo |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 22592.7 |
| Population Total: | 6656 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 4,734 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 2,170 |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 4,418 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 2,486 |
| Timezone: | CLST[2] |
| Utc Offset: | -3 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST[3] |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Area Code: | 56 + 61 |
| Website: | Government of Tierra del Fuego |
Tierra del Fuego Province (es|Provincia de Tierra del Fuego) is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena (XII). It includes the Chilean or western part of the main island of Tierra del Fuego, except for the part south of the Cordillera Darwin, which is in Antártica Chilena Province.
Chilean Tierra del Fuego has two towns, Porvenir, capital of the province, and Cerro Sombrero, and a number of small villages. A key geographical feature is Bahía Inútil ("Useless Bay"), so named by British geographers in the late 19th century because the bay is not useful as a port.[4]
Gold-bearing sands have been recorded at a number of sites within the Fuegan shores of the Tierra del Fuego Province.[5] Chilean Tierra del Fuego is known for numerous small lakes, including Lago Blanco and Lago Deseado. The climate is Subpolar Oceanic, bordering on a Tundra climate.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 22592.7sqkm[1] and had a population of 6,904 inhabitants (4,418 men and 2,486 women), giving it a population density of 0.3PD/sqkm. It is the third most sparsely populated province in the country after Antártica Chilena and Capitan Prat, and it is the fifth least-populated province in the country. Of these, 4,734 (68.6%) lived in urban areas and 2,170 (31.4%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 1.2% (81 persons).[1]
The shores among the islands have provided settlement locations for thousands of years of early humans in the Americas. In particular, the Wulaia Bay area of Navarino Island (south of the province) has yielded evidence of settlement by the Yaghan people more than 10,000 years ago.[6]
A gold rush occurred in the late 19th and early 20th century.
. Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle. Phillip Parker King. 1839. 125.