Punta Arenas is the capital of Chile’s southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena, and sits on the Brunswick Peninsula beside the Strait of Magellan. It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel and the most populous southernmost city in the Americas, with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
Founded in 1848 as a small penal colony to assert Chilean sovereignty over the Strait, Punta Arenas grew through the late 19th century as maritime traffic to western South and North America increased. European immigrants, particularly from Croatia and Russia, arrived during the 1880s gold rush and sheep farming boom — the largest sheep company controlled 10,000 square kilometres across Chile and Argentina from its base here. The city’s strategic position helped secure Chilean territorial claims in the 1881 boundary treaty with Argentina. Today Punta Arenas remains one of the world’s most southerly ports and serves as a gateway for Antarctic logistics and expeditions, reinforcing its enduring geopolitical importance. Since 1977 it has operated as one of Chile’s two free ports.
