Beagle Channel
Encyclopedia
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
Archipelago, in extreme southern South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. It separates Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan...
from the islands Nueva, Picton
Picton, Lennox and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva is a group of three islands on the extreme south of South America, in the Chilean commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region...
, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry
Londonderry Island
Londonderry is an island in Tierra del Fuego in Chile at the western end of the Beagle Channel and Darwin Sound; the captain of HMS Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, was a descendant of the Marquis of Londonderry. Politically, the island is located in the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, which belongs to the...
, Stewart Islands and other smaller to the south. Its eastern portion is part of the border between Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, but the western part is completely within Chile. The west end is the Darwin Sound
Darwin Sound
The Darwin Sound is an expanse of seawater which forms a westward continuation of the Beagle Channel and links it to the Pacific Ocean at Londonderry Island and Stewart Island, not far from the southern tip of South America...
and the east end is Nueva Island.
The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The Beagle Channel and the Straits of Magellan are both very narrow passages which severely limit the size and types of ships that can safely use them, hence, most commercial shipping is done through the Drake Passage.
The Beagle Channel is about 240 km (129.6 nmi; 149.1 mi) long and is about 5 km (3 nmi; 3 mi) wide at its narrowest point. To the west the Darwin Sound
Darwin Sound
The Darwin Sound is an expanse of seawater which forms a westward continuation of the Beagle Channel and links it to the Pacific Ocean at Londonderry Island and Stewart Island, not far from the southern tip of South America...
connects it to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The biggest settlement on the channel is Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
in Argentina followed by Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region...
in Chile, two of the southernmost settlements
Southernmost settlements
Southernmost settlements are cities, towns, weather stations or permanent military bases which are further south than latitude 45° S. They are closely related to the Southern Ocean or either the Roaring Forties or Furious Fifties.- Southernmost city :...
of the world.
Navigation
Although it is navigable by large ships, there are safer waters to the south (Drake PassageDrake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
) and to the north (Strait of Magellan
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
). Ships of other nations navigate between the Strait of Magellan
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
and Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
through the Chilean Magdalena Channel
Magdalena Channel
Magdalena Channel is a Chilean channel joining the Strait of Magellan with Cockburn Channel and is part of a major navigation route which ultimately connects with the Beagle Channel. It separates Capitán Aracena Island from the westernmost portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, and crosses...
and the Cockburn Channel with a Chilean pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
.
Islands
The Beagle Channel develops between several islands; to the north lies Argentine-Chilean Isla Grande de Tierra del FuegoIsla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan...
, to the south Hoste, Navarino, and Picton and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva is a group of three islands on the extreme south of South America, in the Chilean commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region...
, which were claimed by Argentina until 1984. The latter two lie at the bi-national eastern entrance to the channel while the western entrance is wholly inside Chile. The western entrance of Beagle Channel is divided by Gordon Island
Gordon Island
Gordon Island is an island in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Politically, the island is located in the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, which belongs to the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, Chile. It has an area of 591 km²....
into two channels. Some minor islands exist inside the channel among them Snipe Islet
Snipe incident
The Snipe incident was a military incident that took place between Chile and Argentina during 1958 as a result of an disputed border line in the Beagle Channel....
and Gable Island
Gable Island
Gable Island is an Argentine island part of Tierra del Fuego Province. The island is located on the northern side of east-west Beagle Channel less than from Tierra del Fuego Island and about from Chilean Navarino Island. The island has an irregular shape with many shoal banks extending into bays...
. Except for eastern Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and Gable Island all islands mentioned here belong to Chile.
History
The YaghanYaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
peoples settled the islands along the Murray Channel
Murray Channel
The Murray Channel is a channel of Chile located in the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in the Antártica Chilena Province of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. It separates Hoste Island from Navarino Island and is bounded by the Beagle Channel to the north...
approximately 10,000 years before present. There are notable archaeological sites indicating such early Yaghan settlement at locations such as Bahia Wulaia
Bahia Wulaia
Bahia Wulaia is a bay on the western shore of Isla Navarino along the Murray Channel in extreme southern Chile. The island and adjacent strait are part of the commune of Cabo de Hornos in the Antártica Chilena Province, which is part of the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region. There is an...
on Isla Navarino
Isla Navarino
Isla Navarino is a Chilean island located strategically between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belonging to Antártica Chilena Province in the XII...
, where the Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens are located.
Naming and Darwin visit
The channel was named after the ship HMS BeagleHMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
during its first hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
of the coasts of the southern part of South America which lasted from 1826 to 1830. During that expedition, under the overall command of the Australian Commander Phillip Parker King, the Beagle's captain Pringle Stokes committed suicide and was replaced by captain Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
. The ship continued the survey in the second voyage of the Beagle
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
under the command of captain FitzRoy who took Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
along as a gentleman's companion, giving him opportunities as an amateur naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
. Darwin had his first sight of glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s when they reached the channel on 29 January 1833, and wrote in his field notebook "many glaciers beryl blue most beautiful contrasted with snow".
Beagle Conflict
Several small islands (Picton, Lennox and NuevaBeagle Channel cartography since 1881
The region of the Beagle Channel, explored by Robert FitzRoy eighteen-thirties, was one of the last ones to be colonized by Chile and Argentina. The cold weather, the long distances from other inhabited regions and the shortage of transport and subsistence kept it far from the governmental task.In...
) up to the Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
were the subject of the long-running Beagle conflict
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 that brought the countries to the brink of war in 1978....
between Chile and Argentina; by the terms of a Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina
Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina
The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina was signed into agreement at the Vatican on 29 November 1984.It was ratified...
they are now part of Chile. From the 1950s to 1970s several incidents involving the Chilean and Argentine Navy occurred in the waters of the Beagle Channel, for example the 1958 Snipe incident
Snipe incident
The Snipe incident was a military incident that took place between Chile and Argentina during 1958 as a result of an disputed border line in the Beagle Channel....
, the 1967 Cruz del Sur incident and the shelling of Quidora the same year.
Gallery
Image:Beagle Channel - La Isla de Los Lobos.jpg|Sea Lions Island or La Isla de Los Lobos
Image:Beagle Channel 2006.JPG| Beagle Channel, January 2006
Image:BeagleChannelGlacier.jpg|Romanche Glacier on the north shore of the Channel
Image:Farofindelmundo2.JPG| View of The Lighthouse Les Eclaireurs
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is a slightly conically shaped lighthouse standing on the northeastern-most islet of the five or more Les Eclaireurs islets, which it takes its name from, 5 Nautical mile east of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina...
called End of the World near Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
on the north shore of the Channel
See also
- Beagle conflictBeagle conflictThe 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 that brought the countries to the brink of war in 1978....
- Beagle Channel cartography since 1881Beagle Channel cartography since 1881The region of the Beagle Channel, explored by Robert FitzRoy eighteen-thirties, was one of the last ones to be colonized by Chile and Argentina. The cold weather, the long distances from other inhabited regions and the shortage of transport and subsistence kept it far from the governmental task.In...