 It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south, and at the same time the most populous southernmost city in Chile and in the Americas, and due to its location, the coldest coastal city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Latin America.It is also one of the most populous sites so far south in the world.As of 1977 Punta Arenas has been one of only two free ports in Chile, the other one being Iquique, in the country's far north.