On the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, at the southern tip of South America, sits the Argentinian city of Ushuaia, known as the southernmost city in the world, or sometimes, “the end of the world.” A couple of months ago, Getty Images photographer Mario Tama spent a short time in Ushuaia, capturing images of the harbor, the city, the people, the mountains, and nearby glaciers. He found that residents are facing several challenges, including the possible loss of their main drinking water supply as the Martial Glacier retreats. Tama: “Ushuaia and surrounding Tierra del Fuego face other environmental challenges including a population boom leading to housing challenges following an incentivization program attracting workers from around Argentina. Population in the region increased 11-fold between 1970 and 2015 to around 150,000. An influx of cruise ship tourists and crew, many on their way to Antarctica, has also led to increased waste and pollution in the area.”
Dead trees, killed by flooding due to beaver dams, stand along a stream, photographed on November 8, 2017. In Patagonia, beavers are an invasive species that were introduced from Canada in 1946. A small group of beavers were brought as part of a plan to establish a fur trade but now number up to 100,000 and have no natural predators in the region.#
Augusto enters his home built in an informal mountainside community, where residents depend on runoff water from the receding Martial Glacier, on November 10, 2017 in Ushuaia.#
A resident carries her daughter downhill in an informal mountainside community on November 7, 2017. The family had just received donated goods from a local social project. Many Ushuaians have constructed homes in informal settlements due to a population boom and lack of affordable housing options.#
A resident walks to check on hoses carrying runoff water from the receding Martial Glacier to residents of an informal mountainside community, who depend on the water, on November 7, 2017.#
Dogs, cats, and other animals that were left behind, or caught in the storm, are being rescued and cared for by owners, neighbors, and first responders.
