This incredible natural waterway was one of the few sea routes between the Atlantic and Pacific. (Image: Getty)
Considered the most important natural passage between the and Pacific oceans, this incredible waterway stretches 350 miles and is 1.2 miles wide at its narrowest point. Until the construction of the , it was one of the few navigable sea routes joining the two bodies of water.
The Strait of Magellan lies in southern Chile, separating mainland in the north from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the south. It was named after the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, who became the first European to discover it during an expedition in 1520.
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The Strait of Magellan was an important sailing-ship route before the building of the Panama Canal. (Image: Getty)
The strait’s major port is Punta Arenas, on the Brunswick Peninsula, a shipping point for mutton. It lies entirely within territorial waters, except for its easternmost extremity, which is touched by .
Although the strait follows a tortuous course among numerous islands and channels and has a cold, foggy climate, it was an important sailing-ship route before the building of the Panama Canal (completed in 1914) shortened the Atlantic- passage by several thousand miles.
The strait experiences a unique geographical phenomenon called Williwaws, where sudden gusts of strong cold winds descend on it from the mountainous coasts.
Indeed, the passage took Magellan 38 days to complete, showcasing is navigational difficulty.
The northwestern portion of the strait is connected with other sheltered waterways via the Smyth Channel. This area is similar to the Inside Passage of .
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Los Pingüinos Natural Monument is home to more than 60,000 breeding Magellanic penguins. (Image: Getty)
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency lists 41 in the waterway. Some are more than a century old and several have been declared national monuments. The San Isidro lighthouse, restored in 2004, is now a museum and lodge.
Many Chilean National Parks and Marine Protected Areas are located along the Strait of Magellan. In the centre of the strait is the Los Pingüinos Natural Monument, which is home to more than 60,000 breeding Magellanic penguins.
South American fur seals, southern right whales and humpback whales are also found here.
Ferdinand Magellan set sail in the hope of finding a way to sail west to the Spice Islands, in what is modern-day . However, he never made it to the islands as he was killed by a poisoned arrow in the Philippines in April 1521. Two of his ships did, however, and The Victoria then continued west until they reached again in September 1522, completing their circumnavigation of the world.
Of the 270 original crew members that set out on the three-year voyage, just 18 survived.