Cordillera Darwin

Cordillera Darwin
Range
NASA oblique image
Country	Chile
State	Magallanes Region
Highest point	Mount Darwin

The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field.^[1] It is located in the southwestern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, entirely within the Chilean territory. It is part of the longest Andes range and includes the highest mountains in Tierra del Fuego, with elevations reaching over 2,000 m (6,600 ft); The ice field of the Cordillera Darwin covers an area greater than 2,300 square kilometres (890 sq mi).^[2] The Darwin Range extends in a west-east direction from the Monte Sarmiento (located in the vicinity of Magdalena Channel) to Yendegaia Valley. It is bounded by the Almirantazgo Fjord on the north and the Beagle Channel on the south. The range is named after Charles Darwin and is the most important feature of Alberto de Agostini National Park, which includes a number of well known glaciers including the Marinelli Glacier, which is now under prolonged retreat as of 2008.^[3]

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.^[4]

Stoppani Glacier in Cordillera Darwin

Major peaks

• Monte Darwin
• Monte Sarmiento
• Monte Italia
• Monte Bove
• Monte Roncagli
• Monte Luis de Saboya
• Monte Della Vedova
• Monte Buckland

See also

• Ainsworth Bay, Chile

References

• C. Michael Hogan. 2008 Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens, Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
• United States Geological Survey (USGS). 1999. Southern Patagonia Icefield and Southernmost Andes Icefield
• Darwin exploration by the French explorer Christian Clot Darwin exploration (In French)

Line notes

1. ^ La Cordillera Darwin, 2006
2. ^ USGS, 1999
3. ^ C. Michael Hogan, 2008
4. ^ Darwin Cordillera: French mountaineers become first to cross Chilean range in historic climb, Daily Telegraph, October 5, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-06.

Coordinates: 54°45′00″S 69°29′00″W / 54.75°S 69.4833°W / -54.75; -69.4833