Cape Horn

Cape Horn

The Cape Horn is the most southerly headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southern Chile, located on the tiny Hornos Island. While not the southernmost point in South America, Cape Horn represents the northern border of the Drake Passage and the point where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans cross. The gateway was once part of the clipper routes that carried much of the world's trade. Nowadays, Cape Horn and the surrounding Magallanes region are the habitat of a wild ocean ecosystem with abundant marine mammals and seabirds, as well as the southernmost kelp forest in the world. The Bárbara Channel, one of the three channels linking the Strait of Magellan and the Pacific Ocean, is home to South American Sea Lions, while the Diego Ramírez Islands, the southernmost inhabited outpost in the Americas, are home to a large number of birds that congregate at important nesting sites. They include the Black-Browed Albatross and the Rockhopper Penguin. Other wildlife observed in the area includes Humpback Whales, Rockhopper Penguins, albatrosses, False King Crabs, as well as sea stars, sponges and various other marine invertebrates. Cape Horn is located in the Cabo de Hornos National Park, which was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005, together with the Alberto de Agostini National Park. It is the southernmost national park in the world. Created in 1945, the park includes the Wollaston Islands and the Hermite Islands, and covers an area of 63 093 hectares.