The Diego Ram?rez Islands (Spanish: Islas Diego Ram?rez) are a small group of islands located in the southernmost extreme of Chile about 105 km (65 mi) west-southwest of Cape Horn and 93 km (58 mi) south-southeast of Ildefonso Islands, stretching 8 km (5 mi) north-south. They are divided into a smaller northern group with six islets, and a larger southern group, separated by a passage 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The two largest islands, Isla Bartolom? and Isla Gonzalo, both lie in the southern group. The islands contain the southernmost point of the South American continent. ?guila Islet (Islote ?guila), the southernmost land of the group, is at 56?32'9"S.They were first sighted on 12 February 1619 by the Garcia de Nodal expedition, and named after the cosmographer of the expedition, Diego Ram?rez de Arellano. They were cited as the southernmost land mass plotted as of that time, and retained the honor for 156 years, until the discovery of the South Sandwich Islands in 1775.In 1892 the Chilean government rented the islands to Pedro Pablo Benavides for fishing and on condition to build a lighthouse, a port and a school. Later the rent was transferred to Koenigswerther and Pasinowich.The Chilean Navy established a meteorological station above Caleta Condell, a small cove on the northeast side of Isla Gonzalo (Gonzalo Island), in 1957, and resupply it several times each year. This is the southernmost human-occupied outpost of South America (including islands), even if the South Sandwich Islands are regarded as part of South America, since the Argentinian station on Thule Island was dismantled in June 1982 (in the aftermath of the Falklands War). The next southerly human-occupied outpost of South America is the lighthouse of Cape Horn. Cruise ships occasionally pass by on their way to and from Antarctica.The islands are an important nesting site for a number of southern seabirds, including the Black-browed Albatross, Shy Albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, Rockhopper Penguin, and Southern Giant-Petrel.
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