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Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. The city was officially renamed Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to Punta Arenas. It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south. As of 1977 Punta Arenas has been one of only two free ports in Chile.〔(Zona franca de Aysén tendrá características similares a las de Iquique y Punta Arenas ), ''La Tercera''. 1 April 2012.〕 Located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a tiny penal colony to assert sovereignty over the Strait. During the remainder of the 1800s, Punta Arenas grew in size and importance due to the increasing maritime traffic and trade traveling to the west coasts of South and North America. This period of growth also resulted from the waves of immigrants attracted to the gold rush and sheep farming boom in the 1880s and early 1900s. The largest sheep company, controlling 10,000 square kilometres in Chile and Argentina, was based in Punta Arenas, and its owners lived there. Since its founding Chile has used Punta Arenas as a base to defend its sovereignty claims in the southernmost part of South America. This led, among other things, to the Strait of Magellan being recognized as Chilean territory in the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. The geopolitical importance of Punta Arenas has remained high in the 20th and 21st centuries because of its logistic importance in accessing the Antarctic Peninsula. ==Etymology== The English 18th-century explorer John Byron is sometimes credited with naming this area, calling it Sandy Point. But it was not until 1843 that the government tried to establish a fort and settlement at Fuerte Bulnes. The name ''Punta Arenas'' was derived from the Spanish term ''Punta Arenosa'', a literal translation of the English name 'Sandy Point'. The city has also been known as ''"Magallanes."'' Today that term is normally used to describe the administrative region which includes the city. Punta Arenas has been nicknamed "the city of the red roofs" for the red-painted metal roofs that characterized the city for many years. Since about 1970 the availability of other colors in protective finishes has resulted in greater variety in the characteristic metal roofs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Punta Arenas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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