Town to city: Puerto Williams

On March 29th, 2019, Chile’s governmental agency, the National Institute of Statistics (INE), redefined the definition of city, changing how Puerto Williams was categorized. As a result, Puerto Williams was reclassified from a town/hamlet to a city.

The reclassification was done in the hopes of attracting tourists to the new “End of the Earth.”

Puerto Williams is located 6 miles (10km) further south of Ushuaia, Argentina, and is located on the other side of the Beagle Channel.

Ushuaia: Former southernmost city

The Argentine city of Ushuaia is the former title holder of the southernmost city in the world. By some definitions of a city, Ushuaia is still considered to be the true and actual southernmost city.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a city is:

“an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village.”

or

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a city is defined as:

"a large town"

**Beagle Channel lighthouse in Tierra del Fuego Archipelago**

Ushuaia: The 2nd Southernmost City in the World

Ushuaia, Argentina - 74,752 (2019) people
- Ushuaia is also the world’s most active Antarctic gateway port, receiving over 90% of all tourists that go to Antarctica
Puerto Williams, Chile 2,063 (2017) people

However, as there is no actual population requirement, uniformity, or strict definition of city, once Puerto Williams was reclassified by the Chilean government, it became the true southernmost city in the world.

southernmost city of 100,000: Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas in Chile is the southernmost city in the world with over 100,000 people.

Population of Punta Arenas = 124,169 (2017) people

Punta Arenas is about 100 miles (160km) north of Ushuaia and Puerto Williams and is over 700 times larger than both “cities” combined in total area.

Punta Arenas vs New Zealand and southerly cities

Punta Arenas is over 500 miles (805 km) further south than Invercargill, the southernmost city in New Zealand.

Jesse is Director of Pedal Chile and lives in Chile’s Patagonia. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health & Human Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Hobbies: MTBing, snowboarding, reading, taster of craft beers, researcher, & cartographer.

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