Porvenir, Chile Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Porvenir

Karukinka

Town and Commune

A view of Porvenir

Coat of arms

Map of Porvenir commune in Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena Region

Porvenir

Location in Chile

Country

Chile

Region

Magallanes y Antártica Chilena

Province

Tierra del Fuego

Founded

1899

Government

• Type

Municipality

Area

• Total

6,982.6 km² (2,696.0 sq mi)

Elevation

17 m (56 ft)

Population

(2012 Census)

• Total

5,907

• Density

0.84596/km² (2.19103/sq mi)

• Urban

4,734

• Rural

731

Demonym(s)

Porvenireño, -a

Sex

• Men

3,307

• Women

2,158

UTC−3 (CLST)

Website

Official website: http://www.muniporvenir.cl/

Porvenir is the capital of both the homonymous commune and the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. It is one of Chile's southernmost towns, and has 4,734 inhabitants, including several thousand soldiers. It is the largest settlement in the Chilean half of the island of Tierra del Fuego.

Porvenir (Spanish for "hereafter" – literally "yet to come") was founded in 1883 by immigrants from Croatia and Chiloé in connection to the gold mining that preceded the larger Tierra del Fuego gold rush that started in 1884.

The main sources of income are sheep farming and small-scale fishing (wrecks in Porvenir bay prevent larger vessels from mooring). In addition there is a regiment of the Chilean army and a high-security prison. An abattoir operates for only short periods of the year.

Some gold deposits remain and are commercially mined. Porvenir also gives access to Cerro Sombrero, an oil town, 125 km (78 mi) north-east of Porvenir.

Demographics
Administration
Tourism
Climate
Gallery
See also

Demographics

San Francisco de Sales church

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Porvenir spans an area of 6,982.6 km² (2,696 sq mi) and has 5,465 inhabitants (3,307 men and 2,158 women). Of these, 4,734 (86.6%) lived in urban areas and 731 (13.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 7.1% (361 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Porvenir is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2016-2020 alcaldesa is Marisol Andrade Cárdenas .

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Porvenir is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Juan Morano (PDC) and Gabriel Boric (Ind.) as part of the 60th electoral district, which includes the entire Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. The commune is represented in the Senate by Carlos Bianchi Chelech (Ind.) and Carolina Goic (PDC) as part of the 19th senatorial constituency (Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region).

Tourism

Porvenir in Tierra del Fuego

Though tourism is expanding, most tourists pass Porvenir by, or use it simply as a stopover on their way farther south. There are several hotels, cyber-cafes, restaurants, and one gas station. A small grocery store is located near the Chilean army base on the upper level of the town, and there are several small stores and supermarkets elsewhere in town.

Access is by ferry or by air from Punta Arenas or by road from the Argentine side of the island. All ferries across the Straits of Magellan are run by Austral Broom, a Chilean company. One service runs once daily except Mondays from the port near Punta Arenas and reaches the ferry terminal about 3 km from the town of Porvenir. The other service is at the northern end of the island running from Punta Delgada to Bahia Azul.

It is possible to reach the south of Chilean Tierra del Fuego from Porvenir. The southern region has several lakes and rivers available for fishing.

Climate

The climate in Porvenir is a subpolar variety (Köppen: Cfc) of the oceanic climate. Temperatures in the warmest months, January and February average 10.7 °C (51.3 °F) while temperatures in the coolest month average 1.7 °C (35.1 °F). Precipitation is at around 749 millimetres (29.5 in). Also, due to its latitude, the length of the day varies tremendously across the year. Winter days can have as few as seven hours of sunlight, while summer days stretch to twenty hours. Frost occurs throughout the year, and winter temperatures can remain below freezing for relatively long periods of time. Freak snowfalls can occur even in midsummer. The highest temperature was 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) in February 2019.

Climate data for Porvenir (1991–2020, extremes 1986–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	26.7 (80.1)	32.2 (90.0)	26.0 (78.8)	20.8 (69.4)	14.2 (57.6)	13.2 (55.8)	14.9 (58.8)	13.6 (56.5)	18.2 (64.8)	20.9 (69.6)	25.2 (77.4)	27.4 (81.3)	32.2 (90.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	16.5 (61.7)	15.8 (60.4)	15.4 (59.7)	12.4 (54.3)	8.9 (48.0)	6.3 (43.3)	5.7 (42.3)	7.1 (44.8)	10.4 (50.7)	12.9 (55.2)	14.1 (57.4)	16.0 (60.8)	11.8 (53.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	10.8 (51.4)	10.6 (51.1)	9.1 (48.4)	6.8 (44.2)	4.2 (39.6)	2.1 (35.8)	1.7 (35.1)	2.9 (37.2)	4.7 (40.5)	6.7 (44.1)	8.6 (47.5)	10.1 (50.2)	6.5 (43.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	4.8 (40.6)	5.3 (41.5)	4.0 (39.2)	2.1 (35.8)	0.1 (32.2)	−1.3 (29.7)	−1.9 (28.6)	−1.0 (30.2)	−0.5 (31.1)	0.9 (33.6)	3.3 (37.9)	4.5 (40.1)	1.7 (35.0)
Record low °C (°F)	−2.0 (28.4)	−2.2 (28.0)	−4.4 (24.1)	−5.8 (21.6)	−10.0 (14.0)	−10.2 (13.6)	−15.7 (3.7)	−10.8 (12.6)	−7.0 (19.4)	−4.8 (23.4)	−2.9 (26.8)	−3.0 (26.6)	−15.7 (3.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	86 (3.4)	65 (2.6)	74 (2.9)	74 (2.9)	54 (2.1)	47 (1.9)	46 (1.8)	49 (1.9)	48 (1.9)	56 (2.2)	69 (2.7)	81 (3.2)	749 (29.5)
Average precipitation days	15	12	12	11	9	8	9	9	10	11	13	15	134
Average relative humidity (%)	70	71	73	77	80	82	82	79	76	71	69	69	75
Mean daily sunshine hours	8.4	7.8	6.6	5.5	4.8	4.4	4.6	5.6	6.3	7.6	8.4	8.7	6.6
Source 1: Climate-Data.org
Source 2: Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (normal temperatures and extremes)