Today, Isla de los Estados keeps captivating travelers from all over the world. Its geographical features make access difficult, and can only be reached on a sailboat from Ushuaia.

Isla de los Estados is part of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and Islands of the South Atlantic, located only 24 Km from the eastern end of Isla Grande. It is situated between parallels 54º 38`and 54º 54´ latitude south, and meridians 63º 47`and 65º 46´longitude west, approximately. Its area, including some islands and islets is about 520 Km2.

The climate in Isla de los Estados is cold, humid and windy. The annual average temperature varies between 0º y 5º C, being the maximum absolute temperatures similar to a mild climate (in summer) and cold (in winter). It is an essentially maritime climate and the conditions are similar to those found in Cape Horn.

The predominant winds blow from northeast to southeast, with an average intensity of 16.5 knots. The annual average intensity can be defined as strong, being this the only place in Argentina with this characteristic. For this reason, the chill factor varies between moderate cold and intense cold.

Precipitations are abundant, reaching 1000 mm annually, with a total of 248 days of rain. This does not mean that it rains torrentially all day, but a drizzle can last for several days.

The island presents a mountainous relief, with acute and steep peaks, ending at the end of the Andes range. The main elevations are Monte Bove (823 mts.) and Spegazzini (741 mts.) in the San Antonio and Flinders bays, respectively.

The only plains in the island are located in the western sector with ample bays and long sandy beaches. The plains are covered with peat bog that make displacement difficult.

The rest of the harbors have deep fjords with cliffs, the small beaches at the bottom are rock, and a few meters away you find the peat bogs or impenetrable virgin forests that cover the island.

Hundreds of mirrors of sweet water generate small cascades, like the one at Parry`s fjord.

Flora is abundant and very humid, so much that the botanists have classified it as jungle.
The forest starts generally after the high tide, and includes the guindo, ñire and the thorny calafate. From the coasts, the forest ascends the slopes up to and altitude of 150 and 200 meters. As it goes up, the forest shrinks in size and the shapes become short and flat until it disappears. From there on, you see the beginning of the typical flora of the tundra.
There is a great variety of fern, one of the most common being the "Magellan" with a rigid stem and hard leaves.

The peat bogs exist in great quantities in the western part of the island, as well as small lakes and swampy soil, that occupy the lower part of the region. There the forest is replaced by bushes and grass with rush.

The same bird species that you see in the rest of the region, can be seen here, but in more quantities and variety of penguins, as in the case of the yellow eyebrow type, orange, magellanic and penguin king.

The number of southern owls, albatross and petrels. It is also possible to appreciate the majestic Andean condor, the eagle mora, and the peregrine falcon.

With the exception of the fox and guanaco, you find all the mammals found in Isla Grande. The semi-wild European rabbits and the black rat are exotic species that inhabit the area.

From the coast or navigating in the surroundings, you can observe the porpoise, the southern dolphin, orcas and the minke whale.

In the year 1616, Holland and Spain were at war, and the Dutch Expeditionaries that navigated the southern waters, were forbidden to cross the Strait of Magellan. As a consequence, they were forced to find and alternate route to the Pacific, in order to reach their Asian colonies through the west. This is how Jacobo Le Maire discovered the strait that today carries his name, and the Isla de los Estados.

A great number of ships sank near the coast of this island, and this fact earned it the name of "devil's island" among others. In reality, its beautiful and inhospitable geography, swept by wind and rain, separated from Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego by that strait so agitated and tempestuous, presented an obstacle very difficult to confront.

During the months of April and May of 1884, the Expeditionary Division to the South Atlantic, sent by the argentine government and under the command of Commodore Augusto Lasserre, built a lighthouse and a maritime sub-prefecture in the port of San Juan de Salvamento. This base would operate as a rescue station and a shelter for castaways.

The members of the expedition officially inaugurated the lighthouse on May 25 of the same year. This was the second lighthouse in the country, the first one being the one in Martín García Island, on the Río de la Plata.

Since that time, San Juan de Salvamento operated as a military prison. The first ten convicts were part of the people that stayed on the island. In 1902, the convicts were transferred to Ushuaia, the same year in which the original lighthouse shone for the last time and that would later receive the celebrated name of "Lighthouse at the end of the world", thanks to the novel written by Jules Verne (Le Phare du bout du Monde. Dec. 1905).

This was the only light the navigators had in the southern seas, and also the last one before the unknown. It was common for ships to sink due to ferocious storms with huge waves and a rocky coastline. The lighthouse was the guide to an infinite number of ships that crossed the Drake Passage towards the Pacific Ocean.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE ISLA DE LOS ESTADOS

This story began with the presentation made by Mr. André Bronner, president of the El Faro del Fin del Mundo Association (Association Le Phare du Bout du Monde - 8, Place des Halles - Laleu - 1700 - La Rochelle - Francia), to the Culture Secretariat of the Presidency.
Bronner had been to the Isla de los Estados, in an "initiation" trip in April 1993 and from that moment on he dreamed with the project that is a reality today.

One hundred and twelve years after its installation in the Isla de los Estados, the Lighthouse at the End of the World was going to be reconstructed by a navigator. This would be possible thanks to the economic support of the French township of Nantes, where Jules Verne and de La Rochelle were born also was and Bronner's place of residence.

The Ushuaia Municipality declared this initiative of municipal interest, with the commitment to provide all necessary support. This project also received backing from the Embassy of the Republic of France in our country, among other national and international organizations.

The reconstruction of the lighthouse would have a structure of eight faces, an exact replica of the original lighthouse built in the past and now in ruins, Lenga wood would be used, as in the original construction.

On Thursday, February 26, 1998, the Lighthouse at the End of the World was finally inaugurated in the Isla de los Estados. During the ceremony, the argentine flag was raised by Navy personnel.
That night, at sunset, the photosensitive cell was activated and the lighthouse shone like in its best years.

Later, it was included in the navigation route map of the Naval Hydrographic Service. The lighthouse would again guide the course of the navigators.

JULES VERNE´S NOVEL

Although it is said that the writer and poet had never been to these latitudes, or that the novel was written years before the construction of the lighthouse, as you read through the text, many coincidences with historical and geographical reality can be perceived, and are told with impeccable precision.

Jules Verne's novel was titled "Le Phare du Bout du Monde" (The lighthouse at the end of the world" and was published for the first time in 1905, 21 years after the construction of the lighthouse in San Juan de Salvamento.

These are some of the reasons by which it is assumed the Jules Verne had navigated and remained in these southern lands, since his writings demonstrate an excellent historical knowledge about the events that occurred there.

In his book, Jules Verne tells a story of pirates in Isla de los Estados. The argentine lighthouse keepers Vázquez, Moriz and Felipe, arrive to take custody of the lighthouse that had been recently inaugurated and must face a band of criminals hiding in a cave of that inhospitable place.

It is about twelve pirates that were stranded in the island. While waiting for an opportunity to leave, they devoted themselves to ransack the ships that sank in front of the coast. In view of the inauguration of the lighthouse they decide to viciously confront the argentine lighthouse keepers killing two of them (Moriz and Felipe), while Vázquez manages to escape but closely following the movements of the band. These repair a stolen schooner to flee with the booty towards the Pacific.

In the meantime a new shipwreck has occurred. The only survivor is John Davis, who is assisted by Vázquez, and together they manage to defeat the pirates. Argentine ships arrive in search of the lighthouse keepers and capture some of the pirates after a long chase around the island (the writer here demonstrates his knowledge of the geographical features of the place. Towards the end of the story, while the bandits starve to death, terrorized by the possibility of an imminent capture and transfer to Buenos Aires to be tried and punished, the band leader commits suicide in front of the Lighthouse at the End of the World.
This is the end of the story of this famous novel and with it, the beginning of a new chapter of adventures and myths that has influenced the heart of the romantics of all time.