Straits of Magellan

Straits of Magellan

The Straits of Magellan (rarely referred to as the Magellanic Straits) comprise a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and north of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. The waterway is the most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the inhospitable climate and the narrowness of the passage.

History

Ferdinand Magellan (the original name, in Portuguese, Fernão de Magalhães), a Portuguese sailor in service to the Spanish King, became the first European to navigate the strait in 1520, during his global circumnavigation voyage. Because Magellan's ships entered it on November 1, All Saints' Day, it was originally named "Estrecho de Todos los Santos" (Strait of All Saints). Later the Spanish king changed the name to "Estrecho de Magallanes" in honor of Magellan. Since its discovery the Spanish Empire and the Kingdom of Chile saw it as its southern boundary. The first Spanish colonization attempt was led by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa who founded "Nombre de Jesús" and "Rey Don Felipe" on its northern shores. The cities suffered severe food shortages, and years afterwards in 1587 the English navigator Sir Thomas Cavendish landed at the site of "Rey Don Felipe" and found only ruins of the settlement. He renamed the place "Port Famine". Other early explorers included Francis Drake.

Incorporation to Chile

Chile took possession of the channel on May 23 1843. Chilean president Bulnes ordered the expedition after speaking with the Chilean libertador Bernardo O'Higgins who feared an occupation by Great Britain or France. The first Chilean settlement was Fuerte Bulnes situated in a forested zone on the north side of the strait. Fuerte Bulnes was later abandoned and the city of Punta Arenas was founded in 1848 further north where the Magellanic forests met the Patagonian plains. In front of Punta Arenas, on the other shore of the strait in Tierra del Fuego the village of Porvenir emerged during a gold rush in the late 1800s.

Until the Panama Canal was finished in 1914, the Straits of Magellan were the main route for steam ships traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific; it was often considered the only safe way to move between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Protected by Tierra del Fuego to the south and the bulk of South America to the north, ships crossed with relative ease, removed from the dangers of Drake Passage. Despite these natural defenses, sailing ships such as the clippers preferred Drake Passage as they had more room to maneuver. The Drake Passage is the relatively narrow stretch of ocean separating Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America) from Antarctica, the waters of which are notoriously turbulent, unpredictable, and frequented by icebergs and sea ice.

Features

The strait is approximately 570 km long and is about 2 km wide at its narrowest point (Carlos III Island). [http://projects.bo.ismar.cnr.it/OCEANS/CHILE/SCPM04_REP/node10.html The Straits of Magellan and Oceanographical Setting Chile] ] The northwestern portion of the strait is connected with other sheltered waterways via the Smyth Channel. This area is similar to those of the Inside Passage of Alaska. Southward from Cape Froward, the principal shipping route follows through the Magdalena Channel. It links the strait with the Beagle Channel.

The eastern opening is the wide bay on the border of Chile and Argentina in which the border limitation was defined in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina. Immediately west are located Primera Angostura and "Segunda Angostura", which are narrows formed by two different-aged terminal moraines.cite web |title=P 1386-I Chile and Argentina - Wet Andes: Past Glaciation|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386i/chile-arg/wet/past.html
author=USGS|accessdate=2008-01-25
] Here also lies Magdalena Island, which is part of Los Pingüinos Natural Monument. In this part of the strait, its southern boundary follows first the shoreline of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, then follows the northern end of the "Canal Whiteside" and continues along the shoreline of Dawson Island.

The western part of the strait stretches northwestwardly from the northern end of Magdalena Channel to the strait's Pacific entrance. This portion of the strait is flanked on the south by Capitán Aracena Island, Clarence Island, Santa Inés Island, Desolación Island and other smaller islands, and on the north by Brunswick Peninsula, Riesco Island, Muñoz Gamero Peninsula and other minor islands. Here, two narrow channels that open into the strait, connect with Seno Otway and Seno Skyring. Francisco Coloane Coastal and Marine Protected Area, which protects Humpback Whales, is located in this area. This part of the strait lies on the elongated Magallanes-Fagnano Fault, which marks a plate boundary between the South American Plate and the Scotia Plate. This fault continues southward under the Almirantazgo Fjord and then low the Fagnano Lake.

To the west, there are a number of access points from the Pacific, though the most easily seen here is the roughly convert|200|km|nmi|-1|abbr=on stretch from the Queen Adelaide Archipelago (at center left) to the bulk of the Strait (at lower center). The islands and mountains are highlighted by bright white snow, while the lower-elevation lands to the north and east remain clear. This image was acquired by the Aqua satellite on 27 August 2003.

At the site of Primera Angostura, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is as closest to the mainland of South America.

ee also

*Monte Sarmiento
*Agostini Fjord

References

Gallery


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Magellan — Magellanic /maj euh lan ik/, adj. /meuh jel euhn/, n. 1. Ferdinand, c1480 1521, Portuguese navigator: discoverer of the Straits of Magellan 1520 and the Philippines 1521. 2. Strait of, a strait near the S tip of South America between the mainland …   Universalium

  • Straits — Strait Strait, n.; pl. {Straits}. [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See {Strait}, a.] 1. A narrow pass or passage. [1913 Webster] He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. Spenser. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Strait of Magellan — The Strait of Magellan (also called the Straits of Magellan or the Magellanic Strait) comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego. The waterway is the most important natural passage… …   Wikipedia

  • Ferdinand Magellan —     Ferdinand Magellan     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Ferdinand Magellan     (Portuguese Fernão Magalhaes).     The first circumnavigator of the real world; born about 1480 at Saborosa in Villa Real, Province of Traz os Montes, Portugal; died… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • List of straits — This List of straits is an appendix to the article strait . See also: A* Agate Pass Puget Sound * Agattu Strait Aleutians * Akashi Strait Japan * Amchitka Pass Aleutians * Anegada Passage Virgin Islands and Anguilla * Arthur Kill Staten Island… …   Wikipedia

  • Sebald de Weert — Sebald or Sebalt de Weert (May 2 1567, Antwerp May 30 or June 1603, Batticaloa) was a Dutch captain and vice admiral of the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie , VOC). He is most widely remembered for… …   Wikipedia

  • Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina — The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina (Spanish: Tratado de Paz y Amistad de 1984 entre Chile y Argentina, see the text in the [http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/CHL ARG1984PF.PDF …   Wikipedia

  • Grenzvertrag von 1881 zwischen Chile und Argentinien — Der Grenzvertrag von 1881 zwischen Chile und Argentinien zog die vollständige gemeinsame Landgrenze beider Länder und wurde in Buenos Aires am 23. Juli 1881 von Bernardo de Irigoyen, seitens Argentinien, und Francisco de Borja Echeverría, seitens …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Beagle conflict — The Beagle Conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands.The islands are strategicly located off the… …   Wikipedia

  • Patagonia — For other uses, see Patagonia (disambiguation). Official map of cartographer of the King of Spain, Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, 1775. Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the A …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”