Stock Photo - Views of the town of Ushuaia, Argentina Ushuaia pronounced u´swaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego and the southernmost city in the world Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego, guarded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel Its population is estimated today 2008 at about 84,000 2001 population: 45,430 The city was originally named by early British colonists after the name that the native Y·mana people had for the area For most of the first half of the 20th century, the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals The Argentine government set up this prison following the example of the British with Australia or the French with Devil´s Island, escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego was similarly impossible