This article covers towns, weather stations and permanent military bases that are farther south than latitude 45°S. Unlike the northern hemisphere, where several major metropolitan areas such as Moscow, Harbin, London, Paris, Seattle, and Montreal are all located north of the 45°N parallel, the only permanently populated areas south of the 45°S parallel are the small and sparsely populated regions of southern Patagonia in South America, the Falkland Islands, and the southernmost tip of New Zealand.
Southernmost city The southernmost city in the world is mainly a slogan used for tourism purposes to attract visitors to a city as well as the tourists headed for Antarctica. Ciudad (city) is not a legal designation in Chile and Argentina, except for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Currently, three places use this slogan: Ushuaia in Argentina as well as Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams in Chile, with the last being the absolute southernmost town by latitude. There are several more settlements further south but none are considered to be large enough to be classified as a 'city'. The three contending cities are from north to south:
Punta Arenas (, population: 123,403), literally in Spanish: "Sandy Point", is the oldest and largest city in Southern Patagonia, at the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. It is the largest of the three contenders with around 130,000 permanent residentsInteractive map, INE Census 2002, Chile. (Click on XII Region and then on Punta Arenas) and it is called the southernmost city by some media outlets. The basis of its claim to be the southernmost city rests on it being larger than Ushuaia, Río Grande, and Puerto Williams, all of which are farther south. Ushuaia (, population: 82,615), the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, is more commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world due to its sufficiently large population, its infrastructure, and its accepted classification as a city.Boston Globe 2008 Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego, on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel; hence, it is further north than Puerto Williams.
Puerto Williams (, population: 1,868), located on Isla Navarino, is the southernmost town in the world on the southern shore of the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Antártica Chilena Province, one of four provinces located in the Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. Puerto Williams is sometimes considered the southernmost city in the world by Chilean media and some large media international organisations, although it promotes itself with the slogan Puerto Williams, the southernmost town in the world in its tourism campaigns. It has a Naval Hospital of Puerto Williams, the Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum, the Guardiamarina Zañartu Airport and a university campus and it is a naval base of the Chilean Navy.
The southernmost city with a population of over one million is Melbourne, Australia. However, this city is not further south than 45 degrees, instead located around 37°48' south
Settlements of more than 1,000 inhabitants south of 45°S
This is a list of all settlements south of the 45th parallel south with over 1,000 permanent inhabitants.
RankSettlement nameCountryPopulationLatitude/longitudeKöppen climate classification1Puerto Williams Chile ET2Ushuaia Argentina ET3Tolhuin Argentina ET4Río Grande Argentina Cfc5Porvenir Chile Cfc6Punta Arenas Chile Cfc7Puerto Natales Chile Cfb8Stanley Falkland Islands Cfc9Veintiocho de Noviembre Argentina Cfc10Río Gallegos Argentina BSk11Río Turbio Argentina Cfc11El Calafate Argentina BSk12Puerto Santa Cruz Argentina BSk13Comandante Luis Piedrabuena Argentina BSk14Puerto San Julián Argentina BSk15Gobernador Gregores Argentina BWk16Puerto Deseado Argentina BSk17Cochrane Chile Cfb18Pico Truncado Argentina BWk19Bluff New Zealand Cfb20Perito Moreno Argentina BSk21Las Heras Argentina BWk22Los Antiguos Argentina BSk23Chile Chico Chile Csb24Caleta Olivia Argentina BSk25Invercargill New Zealand Cfb26Riverton New Zealand Cfb27Balclutha New Zealand Cfb28Fairfax New Zealand Cfb29Mataura New Zealand Cfb30Winton New Zealand Cfb31Milton New Zealand Cfb32Gore New Zealand Cfb33Rada Tilly Argentina BSk34Comodoro Rivadavia Argentina BSk35Dunedin New Zealand Cfb36Río Mayo Argentina BSk37Sarmiento Argentina BSk38Waikouaiti New Zealand Cfb39Coihaique Chile Cfb40Puerto Chacabuco Chile Cfb41Te Anau New Zealand Cfb42Puerto Aisen Chile Cfb43Alexandra New Zealand BSk44Clyde New Zealand Cfb45Oamaru New Zealand Cfb46Cromwell New Zealand Cfb47Queenstown New Zealand Cfb48Alto Río Senguer Argentina Csc/Dsc
Southernmost settlements outside Antarctica This list of settlements excludes research stations in Antarctica and its surrounding islands. # Location Country Settlementtype LatitudePopulation Population as ofKöppen climate classification1 Estación NavalIslas Diego Ramirez Chile Naval station 56°30′ S 4 2017 ET2 Estación Meteorológicade Cabo de Hornos Chile Weather station 55°59′ S 4 2008 ET3 Puerto Toro Chile Hamlet 55°05′ S 36 2002 ET4 Caleta Wulaia Chile Hamlet 55°02′ S ? ? ET5 Caleta Eugenia Chile Hamlet 54°56′ S ? ? ?6 Puerto Williams Chile Town 54°56′ S 1,868 2002 Cfc7 Puerto Navarino Chile Village 54°55′ S ? ? Cfc8 Puerto Almanza Argentina Village 54°52′ S 200 ? Cfc9 Ushuaia Argentina City 54°48′ S 82,615 2010 Cfc10 Tolhuin Argentina Town 54°31′ S 9,879 ? Cfc11 Macquarie Island Station Australia Scientific research station 54°30′ S 20 to 40 ? ET12 Grytviken South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Hamlet 54°19′ S up to 18 ? ET13 Río Grande Argentina City 53°45′ S 98,017 2010 Cfc/Dfc14 Porvenir Chile Town 53°17′ S 5,465 ? Cfc15 Punta Arenas Chile City 53°17′ S 123,403 2002 Cfc
The former Argentine base Corbeta Uruguay (59°28′ S) in South Sandwich Islands was the southernmost settlement outside Antarctica from 1976–1982.
Settlements on the Antarctic continent
There are many research stations in Antarctica, both permanent and summer only. Many of the stations are staffed all year. McMurdo Station is the largest with an average population of 1200.
A total of 30 countries (as of October 2006), all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, operate seasonal (summer) or year-round research stations on the continent and on its surrounding islands. In addition to these permanent stations, approximately 30 field camps are established each austral summer to support specific one-off projects.4.0 Antarctica – Past and Present
See also Northernmost settlements Extremes on Earth List of southernmost items
Notes
References
Bibliography L. Ivanov and N. Ivanova. Southernmost city. In: The World of Antarctica. Generis Publishing, 2022. pp. 126-130.