Puerto Natales

Infobox City
official_name = Puerto Natales
other_name =
native_name =
nickname = Natales
motto =

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imagesize =250px
image_caption =Urban sight of the city of Puerto Natales


flag_size = 150px
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seal_size =
image_shield =
shield_size = 100px


flag_size = 150px
image_

seal_size =
image_shield =
shield_size = 100px

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mapsize = 200px
map_caption =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
pushpin_map_caption =Location in Chile
pushpin_mapsize = 80
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Chile
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Magallanes
subdivision_type2 = Province
subdivision_name2 = Última Esperanza
subdivision_type3 =
subdivision_name3 =
subdivision_type4 =
subdivision_name4 =
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Mario Margoni Gadler (Independent) (2004-2008)
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
leader_title2 =
leader_name2 =
leader_title3 =
leader_name3 =
established_title =
established_date =
established_title2 = Founded
established_date2 = 1911
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 =
area_land_km2 = 49924
population_as_of = 2002
population_note =
settlement_type = City
population_total = 19,116
timezone =Santiago Time Zone
utc_offset = -4
timezone_DST =DST
utc_offset_DST = -3
latd= 51|latm= 44|lats= |latNS=S
longd= 72|longm= 31|longs= |longEW=W
elevation_m =3
area_code = (56)-61
website =
footnotes =

Puerto Natales is a city in the Chilean Patagonia, located convert|247|km|mi|0|abbr=on northwest of Punta Arenas and is the final port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt into the Señoret Channel as well as the primary transit point for travelers to Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. It is the capital of both the commune of the same name and the Última Esperanza Province of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.

Última Esperanza Sound, originally inhabited by the Kawésqar tribe or Alacaluf and the Aoniken or Tehuelche, was sailed in 1557 by Juan Ladrilleros, a sailor who was looking for the Strait of Magellan. The city was settled by Germans, British, Croatian and Chilean people coming from the Island of Chiloé, all attracted by the sheep-raising industry. Finally, the city was founded under the government of Ramón Barros Luco on May 31, 1911. Nowadays, one of the most important activities is tourism.

History and current status

The Province where the city is located was baptized under the name Última Esperanza (Last Hope) by the sailor Juan Ladrilleros, who was looking for the Strait of Magellan in the year 1557. It was his last hope to find the Strait. After three centuries, in 1830 a new expedition sailed through the fjords and channels of Última Esperanza. It was the British expedition of the frigate HMS Beagle. The names of some the expeditioners (Robert FitzRoy, William Skyring and James Kirke) is the origin of several place-names in the area.

In 1870, the interest in these lands is reborn. Among the daring travelers who ventured these desolated lands, was Santiago Zamora also known as 'Baqueano' Zamora. He discovered the lake district of the Torres del Paine area and many wild horses or 'baguales'. Another was the English traveller and writer Lady Florence Dixie, commemorated in the town's present-day "Hotel Lady Florence Dixie". [ [http://www.chileanpatagonia.com/florence/ Hotel Lady Florence Dixie] online at chileanpatagonia.com (accessed 8 March 2008)]

Puerto Natales was founded on May, 1911 as a port for the sheep industry. During the last half of the 20th century the sheep industry declined and many people from Puerto Natales started to work in the coal mines of Río Turbio in Argentina. It has good tourism facilities, as it has become the base for excursions to the Torres del Paine National Park; the Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument (a cave complex used by prehistoric tribes and where remains of the extinct Giant Sloth have been found; [C. Michael Hogan, "Cueva del Milodon", Megalithic Portal, 13 April, 2008 [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18820] ] the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park; and the Alacalufes National Reserve. The latter includes the Fjord of the Mountains, Cordillera Riesco and Cordillera Sarmiento.

Demography

Puerto Natales is the capital of the province of Última Esperanza, ("Last Hope"), one of the four provinces that make up the Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, in the southernmost part of Chile. According to the 2002 INE census, the province has a population of 19,885 while the municipality (or "comuna") of Natales has 19,116 (10,068 male, 9,048 female; 16.978 urban, 2,138 rural).

Geography

The municipality's area is convert|49924|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on, which renders it one of the largest municipalities in Chile, being larger than seven regions of the country.

Puerto Natales is situated along the shore of the Sena Ultima Esperanza and has views northward into the Cerro Benitez peaks of the Cerro Toro formation within the Cordillera Manuel Señoret.

Note that the term "municipality" is sometimes confused with the Chilean administrative term "comuna" which is roughly comparable to a "county" in the United States and certain other countries. The town of Puerto Natales exists within a larger "comuna" - one of eleven in the XII Region of Chile, and one of only two in the province of Última Esperanza (56,554 square kilometers). Since the entire province of Última Esperanza is divided into only two comunas, the result is a rather large but sparsely populated area for the Puerto Natales comuna.

Its population density is only PD km2 to sq mi|0.38|precision=2. Its geographic coordinates are: Latitude, 51° 43' 60S; Longitude, 72° 31' 0W; Altitude: 3 meters (10 ft)

Local government

The mayor of Natales is Mario Margoni Gadler (Independent). The municipal councillors are:

*Herminio Fernández García: UDI
*Ana Mayorga Bahamonde: UDI
*Patricio Gamin Bustamante: PDC
*Alfredo Alderete Flores: PRSD
*Spiro Cárdenas Tadich: PS
*Antonieta Oyarzo Alvarado: PS

See also

* Muñoz Gamero Peninsula

Notes

External links

* [http://www.natales.cl/ News from Puerto Natales and torres del paine]
* [http://www.patagoniawebcam.com/ Patagonia Webcam from Paine and Puerto Natales]
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CI/10/Puerto_Natales.html Map, weather of Puerto Natales and its environs]
* [http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Natales,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-51.728091,-72.504959&spn=0.102924,0.293541&t=k&om=1 Google map of Natales, Chile]
* [http://www.armageddonpills.com/ge/navimag.kmz View the Navimag's route from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales through the Chilean fjords in Google Earth]