City South America
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas is a city in Chile, near the bottom of South America. It sits beside the sea, where ships pass between two oceans.
Punta Arenas is a port city in the far south of Chile, beside the Strait of Magellan, a sea passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Larousse calls it the strait's only important port. Chile's 2017 census counted 125,932 people in the city.
Punta Arenas, a Chilean port on the Strait of Magellan (Larousse), was founded in 1848 (Larousse, Chile); its climate is cool and windy, 6.6 °C on average. Census 19 April 2017: 125,932 in the city (City Population, from Chile's INE).
Photo: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas is a city in Chile. It is near the very south of South America.
It was started in 1848, as a new town in Patagonia.
Punta Arenas is a city in the far south of Chile. Larousse calls it the only important port on the Strait of Magellan, the sea passage between South America and the islands at its tip. It was founded in 1848, when European immigrants set up new settlements in Patagonia.
Chile's census of 19 April 2017 counted 125,932 people in the city.
Larousse (Strait of Magellan): a 550-km strait joining the Atlantic and the Pacific, between South America and the islands (including Tierra del Fuego) that extend its southern tip; its only important port is Punta Arenas. Larousse (Chile): pioneer fronts were set up in Patagonia, with the founding of Punta Arenas in 1848. INE via City Population: Punta Arenas city 109,110 (1992), 116,005 (2002), 125,932 (census 19 April 2017); the page lists the 2024 census only by region (Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, 166,537).
- Country
- Chile
- People in the city (census, 19 April 2017)
- 125,932
- Port
- the only important port on the Strait of Magellan (Larousse)
- Founded
- 1848 (Larousse)
Roofs by the strait
In this photo, roofs spread down to the sea. Ships float on the water far away.
This photo shows the view from Cerro de la Cruz in Punta Arenas on 4 February 2019. Roofs spread down to the shore, and ships lie out on the water of the Strait of Magellan under a clear sky.
Near the center of the city stands the Regional Museum of Magallanes, in a historic house.
Commons: 'View from Cerro de la Cruz, Punta Arenas' (Czech, English and Spanish descriptions), own work by Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, taken 4 February 2019, 19:20; categories include 'Buildings in Punta Arenas' and 'Strait of Magellan'; camera location 53.1603 S, 70.9159 W, 0.58 km WNW of the city's Wikidata point.
Wikidata: Regional museum of Magallanes (Q6033717), a historic house and museum, opened 1983, 0.15 km ENE of the city point.
- Photo
- the view from Cerro de la Cruz, 4 February 2019, by Draceane
- Camera point
- about 0.6 km west-northwest of the city's Wikidata point (Wikimedia Commons)
- Regional Museum of Magallanes
- a historic house and museum, about 0.15 km east-northeast of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
A new town in Patagonia
Punta Arenas was started in 1848. Since then, it has grown into a city.
Larousse says that after independence, European immigrants set up pioneer settlements in Patagonia, and Punta Arenas was founded in 1848.
The town grew into the only important port on the Strait of Magellan, the 550-kilometer passage that joins the Atlantic and the Pacific. Chile's censuses show it growing: 109,110 people in 1992, 116,005 in 2002 and 125,932 in 2017.
Larousse (Chile): after independence, European immigrants extended the first area of Spanish settlement north and south and set up pioneer fronts in Patagonia (founding of Punta Arenas in 1848). Larousse (Strait of Magellan): Punta Arenas is the strait's only important port. INE via City Population: 109,110 (census 22 April 1992), 116,005 (24 April 2002), 125,932 (19 April 2017). Wikidata gives the founding date as 18 December 1848.
- 1848
- Punta Arenas was founded as European immigrants set up pioneer settlements in Patagonia (Larousse)
- The strait
- 550 km long, joining the Atlantic and the Pacific (Larousse)
- Growth
- 109,110 people in 1992, 116,005 in 2002 and 125,932 in 2017 (City Population)
A port between two oceans
Ships sail past Punta Arenas through a narrow sea. It joins two oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Larousse says the Strait of Magellan is a sea passage 550 kilometers long. It runs between the mainland of South America and the islands at its tip, such as Tierra del Fuego, and joins the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
Punta Arenas is the strait's only important port, and the capital of the Magallanes region.
Larousse: the Strait of Magellan, 550 km, joins the Atlantic and the Pacific between South America and the islands (including Tierra del Fuego) that extend its southern tip; only important port: Punta Arenas. City Population: Punta Arenas is the capital of the region Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena (XII), 166,537 people at the 2024 census.
- Strait of Magellan
- a sea passage between South America and Tierra del Fuego and the other islands at its tip (Larousse)
- Oceans
- the strait joins the Atlantic and the Pacific (Larousse)
- Region
- Punta Arenas is the capital of the Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena region (City Population)
Cool and windy
Punta Arenas is cool all year, and the wind is strong. Its warmest month is January.
Larousse says the climate at Punta Arenas is cool, with an average of 6.6 °C, and the winds are violent. The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1981 to 2010 show that even January, the warmest month, has an average daily high of only 15.2 °C; in June and July it is 4.1 °C.
Rain or snow falls a little in every month. April is the wettest, with 44.7 millimeters, and the year adds up to about 407 millimeters.
Larousse (Chile): cool climate (6.6 °C at Punta Arenas) and violent winds. WMO World Weather Information Service, Punta Arenas (Dirección Meteorológica de Chile; period 1981–2010 as given in the data): mean daily maximum 4.1 °C (Jun, Jul) to 15.2 °C (Jan); mean daily minimum −0.9 °C (Jul) to 6.9 °C (Jan); below freezing in June and July. Precipitation 27.0 mm (Sep) to 44.7 mm (Apr); sum of the months 406.9 mm. Mean days with at least 0.1 mm: 10 (Sep) to 15 (Jan, Mar).
- Average daily highs (WMO, Punta Arenas, 1981–2010)
- 4.1 °C (June and July) to 15.2 °C (January)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- −0.9 °C (July) to 6.9 °C (January)
- Rain and snow in a year (twelve months added up)
- about 407 mm
Life at the end of the continent
In Punta Arenas, the warmest month is January. The coldest months are June and July.
The WMO table shows January as the warmest month in Punta Arenas, and June and July as the coldest.
Most people in Chile's far south live in Punta Arenas: the city had 125,932 people in 2017, and the whole Magallanes region 166,533 in that census. The city's Regional Museum of Magallanes is in a historic house.
WMO normals (1981–2010): highest mean maximum in January (15.2 °C), lowest in June and July (4.1 °C). City Population: Punta Arenas city 125,932 and the Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena region 166,533 at the 2017 census (75.6% in the city); region 166,537 at the 2024 census. Wikidata: Regional museum of Magallanes (Q6033717), historic house and museum, P571/P1619 1983.
- Warmest and coldest
- January is the warmest month; June and July the coldest (WMO table)
- Museum
- the Regional Museum of Magallanes, in a historic house, opened 1983 (Wikidata)
- Region's people
- 166,537 in the Magallanes region at the 2024 census (City Population)
Punta Arenas on the map
Find South America on the globe. Punta Arenas is near its southern tip, in Chile.
Punta Arenas lies at about 53.2° south and 70.9° west, on the Strait of Magellan, near the southern tip of South America.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the Regional Museum of Magallanes is about 0.15 kilometer east-northeast, and Cerro de la Cruz, where the photo was taken, about 0.6 kilometer west-northwest.
Punta Arenas lies at about 53.16° S and 70.91° W (Wikidata point Q51599; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 2.15 km W of it). From the Wikidata point: Regional museum of Magallanes (Q6033717) 0.15 km ENE; the photo's camera point (Cerro de la Cruz) 0.58 km WNW.
- Latitude
- about 53.2° south
- Longitude
- about 70.9° west
- Shore
- on the Strait of Magellan (Larousse)
Amazing facts
-
In Punta Arenas, January is the warmest month and July the coldest!
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, Punta Arenas is warmest in January and coldest in July.
WMO normals for Punta Arenas (1981–2010): highest mean maximum 15.2 °C (January), lowest mean minimum −0.9 °C (July).
-
The sea passage beside Punta Arenas joins two oceans!
Larousse says the Strait of Magellan, beside Punta Arenas, joins the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Larousse: a 550-km strait joining the Atlantic and the Pacific; only important port, Punta Arenas.
-
Most people in Chile's far south live in Punta Arenas!
At Chile's 2017 census, about three in four people in the Magallanes region lived in Punta Arenas: 125,932 of 166,533.
City Population (INE, census 2017): Punta Arenas city 125,932 of 166,533 in Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena (75.6%).
Words to know
- strait
- a narrow stretch of sea that joins two larger seas or oceans
- port
- a town or city with a harbor where ships load and unload goods
- Patagonia
- the far southern part of South America, in Chile and Argentina
- Southern Hemisphere
- the half of the world south of the equator
- pioneer
- one of the first people to settle in a new place
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
Punta Arenas is a city in which country?
Punta Arenas is a port in the far south of which country?
Punta Arenas, founded in 1848, is a port of which country?
- Chile
- Canada
- Spain
Show the answer
Chile
Chile!
Chile.
Chile.
-
Which sea passage is Punta Arenas beside?
Punta Arenas is the only important port on which strait?
Larousse names Punta Arenas as the only important port on which 550-km strait?
- The Strait of Magellan
- The Strait of Gibraltar
- The Bering Strait
Show the answer
The Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan!
The Strait of Magellan.
The Strait of Magellan.
-
Which two oceans does the Strait of Magellan join?
The Strait of Magellan joins which two oceans?
According to Larousse, the Strait of Magellan links which two oceans?
- The Atlantic and the Pacific
- The Indian and the Arctic
- The Arctic and the Atlantic
Show the answer
The Atlantic and the Pacific
The Atlantic and the Pacific!
The Atlantic and the Pacific.
The Atlantic and the Pacific.
-
In which year was Punta Arenas started?
In which year was Punta Arenas founded?
Larousse: Punta Arenas was founded in which year?
- 1848
- 1983
- 2017
Show the answer
1848
1848!
1848.
1848.
-
Which is the warmest month in Punta Arenas?
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, which month is warmest in Punta Arenas?
WMO normals (1981–2010): in which month is Punta Arenas's mean daily maximum highest, 15.2 °C?
- January
- July
- April
Show the answer
January
January!
January.
January (15.2 °C).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Punta Arenas near the southern tip of South America, on the Strait of Magellan.
- Explain what a strait is and why ships use one.
- Explain why the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Read a climate table for a cool, windy place.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might ships sail through a strait instead of going around the end of a continent?
- What would summer feel like in a place where the warmest month averages 15 °C?
- Why might most people in a large, cold region live in one city?
Try at home or in class
- Season globe: shine a lamp on a globe and see which half gets more light in December and in July.
- Strait model: in a tray of water, make two 'oceans' joined by a narrow channel and float a paper boat through it.
- Percent math: 125,932 of 166,533 people in Magallanes lived in Punta Arenas in 2017. About what fraction is that?
Key vocabulary: strait, port, Patagonia, Southern Hemisphere, pioneer, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- détroit de Magellan , Encyclopédie Larousse
- Chili , Encyclopédie Larousse
- Chile: Regions and Urban Agglomerations , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, Chile
- Punta Arenas: climatological information (1981–2010) , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Punta Arenas, Cerro de la Cruz 0798.jpg (Draceane) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.