Mount Darwin () is a peak in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego forming part of the

Cordillera Darwin The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field that is located in Chile. Description Cordillera Darwin is located in the southwestern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, entirely within the Chilean territor ...

, the southernmost range of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, just to the north of the

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

. It is 2,438 m (7,999 ft) high. Monte Darwin was for a long time considered as the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego, but that distinction corresponds to a nearby mountain unofficially named Monte Shipton (also somewhat confusingly referred to as ''Darwin'' or ''Agostini-Darwin''), which is about high and is located at . Both peaks are best climbed in late December, January, February and March. Monte Shipton was first climbed in 1962 by Eric Shipton, E. Garcia, F. Vivanco and C. Marangunic. Mount Darwin was given its name during the voyage of the ''Beagle'' by HMS ''Beagle'''s captain

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of ...

to celebrate

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834. A year earlier FitzRoy had named an expanse of water to the southwest of the mountain the

Darwin Sound The Darwin Sound is an expanse of seawater which forms a westward continuation of the Beagle Channel and links it to the Pacific Ocean at Londonderry Island and Stewart Island, not far from the southern tip of South America. It thus forms a navig ...

to commemorate Darwin's quick wit and courage in saving them from being marooned when waves from a mass of ice splitting off a glacier threatened their boats. The mountain is part of Alberto de Agostini National Park. It is formed of crystalline

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

s and has massive glaciers down its steep southern slopes.

References

* Adrian Desmond and James Moore, ''Darwin'' (London: Michael Joseph, the Penguin Group, 1991).

External links

Mount Darwin, a climbers challenge and the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Mount Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Mountains of Chile Mountains of Magallanes Region Two-thousanders of the Andes