Visit the world's southernmost city to learn of its past whaling reliance and current production of fine wool
The seaport of Ushuaia, southern Patagonia, Argentina.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Hieroglyphics weren't the only form of ancient Egyptian writing—just the first.Media Editors: Meg Matthias , Lauren Sims
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzOverview of Prague.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The Nile River has been important to the development of North Africa.
-
Vincent Urban & Clemens Krüger (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A survey of South America's diverse landscapes.
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzOverview of the Strait of Magellan.
-
Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved. www.qa-international.comThe distribution of the seven continents.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Atacama Desert, Chile.
Transcript
[Music in]
NARRATOR: Here, the Argentine port of Ushuaia seems closer to Alaska than to Buenos Aires.
At the tail end of the Andes, this is the southernmost city in the world, a port which provides safe harbor to ships making their way around Cape Horn.
Now a growing international seaport, Ushuaia was once the home [music out] of a less attractive trade.
Today, only rusting relics remain, like tombstones to the thousands and thousands of slaughtered whales once hauled in for processing.
Though the southern end of the continent is sparsely settled, much of the land is used for raising sheep--about twenty million sheep--prized for their fine wool.
But feeding 20 million mouths has caused serious overgrazing.
Pastures now crowd out the native forest.
NARRATOR: Here, the Argentine port of Ushuaia seems closer to Alaska than to Buenos Aires.
At the tail end of the Andes, this is the southernmost city in the world, a port which provides safe harbor to ships making their way around Cape Horn.
Now a growing international seaport, Ushuaia was once the home [music out] of a less attractive trade.
Today, only rusting relics remain, like tombstones to the thousands and thousands of slaughtered whales once hauled in for processing.
Though the southern end of the continent is sparsely settled, much of the land is used for raising sheep--about twenty million sheep--prized for their fine wool.
But feeding 20 million mouths has caused serious overgrazing.
Pastures now crowd out the native forest.