‘Newly at the end of last century and beginnings of this, the Chilean government began to to be interested in Magellan's extensive territory, like it was designated in those years, and that it included the whole surface starting from Puerto Montt until the Southern end hemisfery. The year of 1928 finally brought a decisive change. Under Don Carlos Ibañez presidency, you it subdivided the vast territory to be able to him to administer better. It was then when you believes the county of Aysén and, parallelly to group of colonization laws was dictated that they propitiated the establishment of venturesome people in the conquest of that deforested region ' (Juan Augusto Grosse: historical Vision and colonization of the Patagonia Western, MOP.1984).

The incipient occupation of Aysén begins in 1904, when seduced by the cattle activity, colonists ' groups follow penetration lines settling in those fence superiors of the main hidrographic basins. This is the cheats of the big ones cattle concessions that will stay until the decade of the 60 ' and that they will take step to political of colonization and consolidation of uninhabited and isolated areas. Important landmark in the regional history it is the Longitudinal Southern Road (Southern Highway) that beginning in 1976 is able to interconnect Villa O'Higgins in November of 1999, completing to journey of 1.237 kilometers from Puerto Montt.

Most of the small populated towns correspond to intents spontaneous of occupation of the space, those that have indispensable state help. The cities of Coyhaique and Punta Arenas only have an intermediates you hierarchy in the one national system, but they constitute development poles that interconnect in air form, terrestrial, marinate or fluvial to the small towns. This way, the strategic towns of approach to the Icefields and its influence area is the following ones:

- Chacabuco: port of the commune of Aysén, is projected toward the Lagoon San Rafael,
Northern Icefield, being Coyhaique the capital of the region of Aysén.

- Tortel: it pivots among Northern Icefield, glacier Steffens and Southern Icefield, glacier Jorge Montt.

- Villa O'Higgins: it is located in the Lago O'Higgins, and is projected toward the O'Higgins and Chico glaciers.

- Puerto Edén: located in the island Wellington it is step forced toward the glaciers of the one Pacific: XI Pious, Trinidad and Falcon.

- Puerto Natales: it is located in the Última Esperanza breast and is projected to the Towers of Paine National Park, ace well ace to the Mountain glaciers and Balmaceda, the most south of the southern Icefield.

- Punta Arenas: capital city of Magellan's region, is projected indirectly to inclination of the channels of the Pacific (Puerto Edén) and toward the Cordillera Darwin.
 

Villa O'Higgins                         Caleta Tortel                         Puerto Edén