The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

mantled by an

ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

that is located in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Description

Cordillera Darwin is located in the southwestern portion of

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (English: ''Big Island of the Land of Fire'') also formerly ''Isla de Xátiva''Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

range and includes the highest mountains in

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

, with elevations reaching over ; The ice field of the Cordillera Darwin covers an area greater than . The Darwin Range extends in a west–east direction from the

Monte Sarmiento Monte Sarmiento is a pyramidal peak with a glaciated saddle-shaped summit located within Alberto de Agostini National Park, in the Chilean portion of Tierra del Fuego. It rises abruptly from the east shore of the Magdalena Channel and marks the ...

(located in the vicinity of

Magdalena Channel 350px, The channel is visible in the lower left corner. Magdalena Channel () is a Chilean channel joining the Strait of Magellan with the Cockburn Channel and is part of a major navigation route which ultimately connects with the Beagle Chann ...

) to Yendegaia Valley. It is bounded by the Almirantazgo Fjord on the north and the

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego f ...

on the south. The range is named after

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

and is the most important feature of

Alberto de Agostini National Park Alberto de Agostini National Park () is a protected area that was created on January 22, 1965, on land that was formerly part of the "Hollanda" forest reserve and "Hernando de Magallanes National Park". It covers and includes the Cordillera Darw ...

, which includes a number of well-known glaciers including the

Marinelli Glacier Marinelli Glacier is a tidewater glacier located in Alberto de Agostini National Park, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. The glacier spills out from the backbone of the Cordillera Darwin and calves into Ainsworth Bay, an embayment of the Almiranta ...

, which is now under prolonged retreat as of 2008. In October 2011, a team of French mountaineers from the French Army's Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne announced the first crossing of the Cordillera Darwin in a 29-day trip which included an ascent of Mount Darwin, the highest peak in the range.Darwin Cordillera: French mountaineers become first to cross Chilean range in historic climb
''Daily Telegraph'', October 5, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-06.

Major peaks

Monte Darwin Mount Darwin () is a peak in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego forming part of the Cordillera Darwin, the southernmost range of the Andes, just to the north of the Beagle Channel. Monte Darwin was for a long time considered as the highest peak in ...

Monte Italia Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

* Monte Bove *

Monte Roncagli Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

Monte Luis de Saboya Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

Monte Della Vedova Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

Monte Buckland Monte Buckland is a prominent peak in Alberto de Agostini National Park, in the Chilean portion of Tierra del Fuego. It towers over a narrow peninsula between Agostini Fjord and Fitton bay, which is an eastward projection of the Gabriel Channel ...

Notes

External links

* C. Michael Hogan. 200
''Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens'', ''Megalithic Portal'', ed. Andy Burnham

* Darwin exploration by the French explorer Christian Clo

(In French) Darwin Landforms of Magallanes Region Ice fields of South America Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego {{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub

Description

Major peaks

See also

Notes

External links