Archipelagoes of Patagonia

The archipelagoes of Patagonia are a chain of island groups along the western and southern coast of Patagonia, lying almost entirely within Chile, apart from Tierra del Fuego, which Chile shares with Argentina, and together making up roughly a third of Chile's coastline. According to a 1916 United States Hydrographic Office survey, the region extends across 11 degrees of latitude north of the western entrance to the Strait of Magellan, its mountainous terrain carved by deep channels into countless islands and peninsulas covered in matted forest, bare rock and deep bogs. The climate is severe, marked by drenching rain, snow, sleet and furious westerly gales, yet the scenery is dramatic, with glaciers descending nearly to sea level and waterfalls that rival the fjords of Norway, in a landscape sparsely populated by seabirds and other fauna adapted to the extreme conditions.