Sandy Port

Sandy Port (Spanish: Punta Arenas) is the capital city of the Patagonian state of Magellania. The city was officially renamed as Bulnes in 1927, but in 1978 it was changed back to "Sandy Port". It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south, and at the same time the most populous southernmost city in the Americas, and due to its location, the coldest coastal city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the Commonwealth of Nations. It is one of the most southerly ports in the world, serving as an Antarctic gateway city. As of 1957, Sandy Port has been one of only two free ports in Patagonia, the other one being Meliepully, in the country's northwest.

Located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan, Sandy Port 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, Sandy Port grew in size and importance due to the increasing maritime traffic and trade travelling to the west coasts of South and North America. This period of growth also resulted from the waves of European immigrants, mainly from Croatia, Ireland and Russia, attracted to a gold rush and sheep farming boom in the 1880s and early 1900s after the sale of Chilean Patagonia. The largest sheep company, controlling 10,000 square kilometres in southern Patagonia, was based in Sandy Port, and its owners lived there.

Sandy Port is well-known for its use as a starting point for Antarctic expeditions, earning the title "Porch of Antarctica". Its cold climate also gives it the sobriquet "City of Snows", and the city is also known for its penguin population and cruises. Sandy Port is also known for its ethnic diversity, with Kawésqar, Tehuelches, Chileans, Falkland Islanders, Croats, Irish, Swiss, Italians, Anglo-Indians, Germans, Russians, Australians and Peruvians having contributed to the city's development. Sandy Port is also known to be an important centre and meeting hub for members of the vaporwave/cyberpunk culture in Patagonia, and the term "Cyberpunk Capital of Patagonia" has been used since 2013 to refer to Sandy Port.