"Drake Passage The Drake Passage () or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the Southern Ocean. The passage receives its English-language name from the 16th-century English privateer Sir Francis Drake. Drake's only remaining ship, after having passed through the Strait of Magellan, was blown far south in September 1578. This incident implied an open connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Half a"
"without which there is no main island to be seen to the southwards but that the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea meet."" This open sea south of Cape Horn became known as the Drake Passage even though Drake himself did not traverse it. On 14 June 1615, Willem Schouten, with two ships ""Eendracht"" and ""Hoorn"", set sail from Texel in the Netherlands in search of a western route to the Pacific. ""Hoorn"" was lost in a fire, but ""Eendracht"" continued southward. On 29 January 1616, Schouten reached what he discerned to be the southernmost cape of the South American"
"that no sailing vessel can make headway against it. Hence most sailing ships prefer the Drake Passage, which is open water for hundreds of miles, despite very rough conditions. The small Diego Ramírez Islands lie about south-southwest of Cape Horn. There is no significant land anywhere around the world at the latitudes of Drake Passage, which is important to the unimpeded flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which carries a huge volume of water (about 600 times the flow of the Amazon River) through the Passage and around Antarctica. Ships in the Passage are often good platforms for the sighting"
"Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the ""Straits of Magellan"", is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is the most important natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is considered a difficult route to navigate due to the narrowness of the passage and unpredictable winds and currents, but is shorter and more sheltered than the often stormy Drake Passage. Along with the narrow and sometimes treacherous Beagle Channel, these were the only three sea routes between these"
"of whales, dolphins and seabirds including giant petrels, other petrels, albatrosses and penguins. The passage is known to have been closed until around 41 million years ago according to a chemical study of fish teeth found in oceanic sedimentary rock. Before the passage opened, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were entirely separate, with Antarctica being much warmer and having no ice cap. The joining of the two great oceans started the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and cooled the continent significantly. Drake Passage The Drake Passage () or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn"
"There is no significant land anywhere around the world at the 55.6 to 62.8 degrees south latitude of the Drake Passage. This is important to the unimpeded flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which carries a huge volume of water (about 600 times the flow of the Amazon River) through the passage and around Antarctica. In the Pacific Juan Fernández Islands of Talcahuano, Valparaíso, Chile or Callao, Peru were among the favorite watering and re-stocking ports in the Pacific. Valparaíso, despite its mediocre harbor, then was the main entrepôt (trans-shipping) port on the Pacific side of South America. After leaving"
"Drake in California In 1579, Francis Drake sailed out in the Pacific, then turned east seeking the Strait of Anián (a water passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, known in the reverse direction as the Northwest Passage), or for a place to repair his ships. The theory goes: After reaching land in Oregon, at the Oregon Dunes, near Coos Bay, Drake headed south, seeking a safe harbor. Like most early explorations, mainly Spaniards, Drake's harbor was not marked by a large, permanent marker that could be found by future visitors. Instead, smaller pieces of physical and documentary evidence lead"
"around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, most commercial shipping uses the open-ocean Drake Passage. The Beagle Channel is about long and is about wide at its narrowest point. It extends from Nueva Island in the east to Darwin Sound and Cook Bay of the Pacific Ocean in the west. Some from its western end it divides into two branches, north and south of Gordon Island. The southwest branch between Hoste Island and Gordon Island enters Cook Bay. The northwest branch between Gordon Island and Isla Grande enters Darwin Sound connecting to the Pacific Ocean by the"
"to any other landmass. The boundary between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is sometimes taken to be a line drawn from Cape Horn to Snow Island ( north of mainland Antarctica). Alternatively, the meridian that passes through Cape Horn may be taken as the boundary. Both boundaries lie entirely within the Drake Passage. The other two passages around the extreme southern part of South America (though not going around Cape Horn as such), Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel, are very narrow, leaving little room for a ship. They can also become icebound, and sometimes the wind blows so strongly"
"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. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez Islands), Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. Cape Horn was discovered and first rounded by the Dutchman Willem Schouten, who named it after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands. For decades, Cape Horn was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships"
"Bahía Drake Bahía Drake (Drake Bay) is a small bay on the north side of the Osa Peninsula on the coast of southwestern Costa Rica. This bay is believed to be a port used by Sir Francis Drake in the 16th century and the location of one of the British pirate's fabled hidden treasures. The main town of Bahía Drake is Agujitas and has a population of about 1,000 residents. The bay is off the beaten track and can be reached by plane, boat, and car (ideally a 4x4 vehicle) during the dry season. Because of lack of bridges, driving"
"edge of the Drake Passage, the strait between South America and Antarctica. It is located in Cabo de Hornos National Park. The cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. A short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture made by Chilean sculptor José Balcells featuring the silhouette of an albatross, in remembrance of the sailors who died while attempting to ""round the Horn"". It was erected in 1992 through the initiative of the Chilean Section of the"
"the rocks. The open waters of the Drake Passage, south of Cape Horn, provide by far the widest route, at about wide; this passage offers ample sea room for maneuvering as winds change, and is the route used by most ships and sailboats, despite the possibility of extreme wave conditions. Visiting Cabo de Hornos can be done on a day trip by helicopter or more arduously by charter power boat or sailboat, or by cruise ship. ""Doubling the Horn"" is traditionally understood to involve sailing from 50 degrees South on one coast to 50 degrees South on the other coast,"
"channel the winds into the relatively narrow Drake Passage. The strong winds of the Southern Ocean give rise to correspondingly large waves; these waves can attain great height as they roll around the Southern Ocean, free of any interruption from land. At the Horn, however, these waves encounter an area of shallow water to the south of the Horn, which has the effect of making the waves shorter and steeper, greatly increasing the hazard to ships. If the strong eastward current through the Drake Passage encounters an opposing east wind, this can have the effect of further building up the"
"South America, it flows through the Drake Passage between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula and then is split by the Scotia Arc to the east, with a shallow warm branch flowing to the north in the Falkland Current and a deeper branch passing through the Arc more to the east before also turning to the north. Passing through the Indian Ocean, the current first retroflects the Agulhas Current to form the Agulhas Return Current before it is split by the Kerguelen Plateau, and then moving northward again. Deflection is also seen as it passes over the mid-ocean ridge in"
"Drakes Bay Drakes Bay is a wide bay named so by U.S. surveyor George Davidson in 1875 along the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of northern California in the United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of San Francisco at approximately 38 degrees north latitude. The bay is approximately 8 miles (13 km) wide. It is formed on the lee side of the coastal current by Point Reyes. The bay is named after Sir Francis Drake and has long been considered Drake's most likely landing spot on the west coast of North America during his circumnavigation of"
"the 2002 draft edition it is. The new delineation of seas being subdivisions of oceans has avoided the need to interrupt the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean where intersected by Drake Passage which includes all of the waters from South America to the Antarctic coast, nor interrupt it for the Scotia Sea, which also extends below the 60th parallel south. The new delineation of seas has also meant that the long-time named seas around Antarctica, excluded from the 1953 edition (the 1953 map did not even extend that far south), are 'automatically' part of the Southern Ocean. Exploration of"
"Horn (the southern tip of South America) from Antarctica is notorious for turbulent and unpredictable weather, and is frequented by icebergs and sea ice. Ships in the strait, protected by Tierra del Fuego to the south and the coast of continental South America to the north crossed with relative ease, and Punta Arenas became a primary refueling port providing coal for steam ships in transit. Sailing ships, however, partly because of variable winds and currents in the strait, generally preferred the Drake Passage, as they had more room to maneuver there. The strait is approximately long and about wide at"
"continent; he named this point ""Kaap Hoorn"" (Cape Horn) after his hometown and his lost ship. Schouten's navigational readings are inaccurate—he placed Cape Horn at 57°48' south, when its actual position is 55°58'. His claim to have reached 58° south is unverified, although he sailed on westward to become the first European navigator to reach the Pacific via the Drake Passage. The next recorded navigation of the Drake Passage was achieved in February 1619, by the brothers Bartolome and Gonzalo Garcia de Nodal. The Garcia de Nodal expedition discovered a small group of islands about south-west of Cape Horn, at"
"location of Drake's port is still undetermined, but a prominent bay on the California coast, Drakes Bay, bears his name. He claimed all the land south of 42 degrees latitude, north of the imprecise Spanish claims and eastward from coast to coast for England, calling it Nova Albion. The term ""Nova Albion"" was often used on European maps to designate territory north of the Spanish claims. Spanish maps, explorations etc., of this and later eras were generally not published, being regarded as state secrets. As was typical in this era, there were conflicting claims to the same territory, and the"
"the Drake Passage. They then turned north into the Pacific Ocean and skillfully entered the Strait of Magellan, on February 25, from the west in their first attempt. They passed into the Atlantic on March 13, and on they returned to Spain July 7, 1619. As a result of their expedition they provided the Spanish ""Casa de Contratación"" with invaluable data and maps that were kept secret for centuries. "" In the annals of Cape Horn exploration, this must rank as one of the most professional expeditions, particularly when seen against the standards of the age in which it took"
"to Francisco de Hoces of the Loaisa Expedition. In January 1526 his ship ""San Lesmes"" was blown south from the Atlantic entrance of the Magellan Strait to a point where the crew thought they saw a headland, and water beyond it, which indicated the southern extremity of the continent. It is speculation as to which headland they saw; conceivably it was Cape Horn. In parts of the Spanish-speaking world it is believed that de Hoces may have discovered the strait later known as the Drake Passage more than 50 years before Sir Francis Drake, the British privateer. Sir Francis Drake"
"of England's presumed legal status of sea-to-sea colonial entitlement. The site of Drake's landing, officially recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies, is Drake's Cove, located in Drakes Estero which runs northerly off Drakes Bay. The bay is in Marin County, California, near Point Reyes, just north of the Golden Gate. . On October 16, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed the nomination and on October 17, 2012, the Drakes Bay Historic and Archaeological District was formally announced as a new National Historic Landmark. No Drake anchorage has endured so much scrutiny or seen"
"Windward Passage The Windward Passage (; ) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti. wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth of . With Navassa Island on its southern approach, it connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is in the direct path of shipping between the Panama Canal and the eastern seaboard of the United States. From either the eastern tip of the Guantánamo Province of Cuba, or the western tip of Haiti's Nord-Ouest"
"Strait of Magellan, and in a diplomatic letter to major shipping nations in 1873 Chile promised freedom of navigation through and neutrality within the strait. Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the ""Straits of Magellan"", is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is the most important natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is considered a difficult route to navigate due to the narrowness of the passage and unpredictable winds and currents, but is shorter and more"
"Drake turned north, hoping to meet another Spanish treasure ship coming south on its return from Manila to Acapulco. He failed in that regard, but staked an English claim somewhere on the northern California coast. Although the ship's log and other records were lost, the officially accepted location is now called Drakes Bay, on Point Reyes south of Cape Mendocino. By the 18th century, it was understood that a less northerly track was sufficient when nearing the North American coast, and galleon navigators steered well clear of the rocky and often fogbound northern and central California coast. According to historian"
"oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the unpredictable winds and currents and the narrowness of the passage. Captains who elected to utilize the Strait of Magellan to bypass Cape Horn and shorten the trip by about experienced a passage of from three to six weeks' duration in surroundings so forbidding and monotonous it often provoked despair. The narrow channels of the straits and the unpredictable currents, tides, and winds were constant hazards, especially to sailing vessels; steam-powered vessels had an easier passage. The other main way around South America was by way of Drake"
"the southernmost tip of South America, lies only about away across the Drake Passage. The Antarctic Peninsula is currently dotted with numerous research stations and nations have made multiple claims of sovereignty. The peninsula is part of disputed and overlapping claims by Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom. None of these claims have international recognition and, under the Antarctic Treaty System, the respective countries do not attempt to enforce their claims. The British claim is recognised though by Australia, France, New Zealand and Norway. Argentina has the most bases and personnel stationed on the peninsula. The first sighting of the"
"Antarctic waters. Many skeletons have been found on Tierra del Fuego and this area is believed to be a site of relatively high concentration. This species has been seen off Brazil, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia in the Atlantic, off the Auckland Islands, Tasmania and south Australia in the South Pacific and Heard Island and Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean. Individuals have very rarely been seen in the open sea. The southernmost sighting was in the Drake Passage at 58°S. The total population is unknown. The IUCN lists it as a Least Concern species in the Red List"
"San Juan). In any of both cases they supposedly had seen an open water connection between Atlantic and Pacific oceans south of Tierra del Fuego, and therefore they preceded Francis Drake in inferring the existence of such a connection. This is the reason why some Spanish, Argentine, and Chilean historians maintain that the so-called Drake Passage should be named Mar de Hoces (""Hoces Sea""). After Loaisa expedition eventually reached the Pacific through the Strait of Magellan, the whole fleet was dispersed by another gale and ""San Lesmes"" was seen for the last time in late May 1526. The final fate"
"and closing of ocean gateways: the opening of the Drake Passage; the opening of the Tasmanian Gateway and the closing of the Tethys seaway; along with the final formation of the Greenland–Iceland–Faroes sill; played vital parts in reshaping oceanic currents during the Oligocene. As the continents shifted to a more modern configuration, so too did ocean circulation. The Drake Passage is located between South America and Antarctica. Once the Tasmanian Gateway between Australia and Antarctica opened, all that kept Antarctica from being completely isolated by the Southern Ocean was its connection to South America. As the South American continent moved"
"of Dutch privateers in the seas to the south of Chile. Historians conjecture that they penetrated to a latitude of (64° S) in the Southern Ocean, south of Drake Passage. If correct, this would be the farthest south that anyone had travelled, at that time. Subsequently, several merchant vessels reported being blown south of 60° S rounding Cape Horn in severe weather. Gabriel de Castilla Gabriel de Castilla (1577 – c. 1620) was a Spanish explorer and navigator. A native of Palencia, it has been argued that he was an early explorer of Antarctica. In March 1603, Castilla was at"
"Puerto Rico Trench The Puerto Rico Trench is located on the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The oceanic trench is associated with a complex transition between the Lesser Antilles subduction zone to the south and the major transform fault zone or plate boundary, which extends west between Cuba and Hispaniola through the Cayman Trough to the coast of Central America. The trench is long and has a maximum depth of or 5.373 miles at Milwaukee Deep, which is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean and the deepest point not in the Pacific Ocean. Scientific studies"