Puerto del Hambre

- 53.636666666667 - 70.933333333333Koordinaten: 53 ° 38 ' S, 70 ° 56 ' W

Puerto Hambre ( German: Port Famine ), rarely also called Puerto de la Hambre, a bay on the north coast of the Strait of Magellan, about 60 km south of Punta Arenas in Chile is located. The bay is bordered by the north Punta Santa Ana peninsula where Fuerte Bulnes is, and ends south of the mouth of the Río Sedger. On the road from Punta Arenas to Puerto Hambre is a Wegmal that marks the half-way point between the south pole and the Chilean border with Peru.

History

On Puerto Hambre founded the settlement Rey Don Felipe in March 1584 by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa. The first Spanish settlers died of starvation due to the sparse vegetation. The English pirate Thomas Cavendish was in 1587 the ruins of the settlement. Some 300 settlers were starved or froze to death. He called the Anchorage Port Famine.

1828 reached the British ship HMS Beagle under Captain Pringle stick Puerto de Hambre. Between 1832 and 1834 also Charles Darwin traveled on the Beagle in the area south of Tierra del Fuego.

On September 21, 1843 John Williams Wilson founded the fortress Fuerte Bulnes. Although this settlement could be maintained for only a short time, was the action of long-term significance for the incorporation of the Strait of Magellan in the Chilean territory.

Since 1 February 1968, the ruins of Puerto del Hambre apply as a national monument.

Memorial stone in Puerto Hambre

Halfway between South Pole and Peru