Gulf of Penas

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The Gulf of Penas (Golfo de Penas in Spanish, meaning "gulf of distress") is a body of water located south of the Taitao Peninsula, Chile.

Contents

Geography

It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the gulfs of Tres Montes and San Esteban and San Quintín, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier Channel. [1] To the south of the gulf lies Guayaneco Archipelago and to the east lies San Javier Island and then the mainland.

History

Spanish explorers and Jesuits, sailing south from Chiloé Archipelago in the 17th and 18th centuries, regularly avoided rounding the Taitao Peninsula by entering the Gulf, after a brief land crossing at the isthmus of Ofqui. [2]

In 1741, the British warship HMS Wager ran aground along the coast of (future) Wager Island, in the southeastern region of the Gulf, while attempting to tack from a lee shore during a storm. [3] [2] Some of the survivors were rescued by Chono chieftain Martín Olleta and his men, who took them aboard their dalcas to the Spanish settlements of Chiloé Archipelago. [4]

In December 1843, the Chilean schooner Ancud rescued the survivors of wrecked French ship Fleuris on the shores of the Gulf. [5]

Flora and fauna

Local marine and terrestrial wildlife includes:

The Gulf is a suitable habitat for a number of species of baleen whales, [6] and is speculated to be a wintering/calving ground for a population of the critically endangered southern right whale. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Bartolomé Diez Gallardo y Andrade was a criollo soldier from Chiloé. He is known for leading a 1674–1675 expedition to the fjords and channels of Patagonia, participating in the following year in the Antonio de Vea expedition to the same area and for serving as Governor of Chiloé from 1686 to 1688.

Martín Olleta was a Chono chieftain who was an important broker between Spanish authorities in Chiloé Archipelago and indigenous people of the fjords and channels of Patagonia. He is known for rescuing the survivors of from the wreck of HMS Wager in 1742. He was identified as chieftain by the British and referred to as "gobernadorcillo de dicha nación chonos" by the Spanish governor of Chiloé Victoriano Martínez de Tineo. He used a rod with a silver handle as symbol of authority.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">English expedition to Valdivia</span> John Narboroughs expedition to Chile in 1670

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wager Island</span> Remote, uninhabited island of Chilean Patagonia

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References

  1. Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Moyna, Edward Gerald James (1911). "Chile". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 143.
  2. 1 2 Vásquez Caballero, Ricardo Felipe. "Aau, el secreto de los chono" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved January 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Sepúlveda Ortíz, Jorge. "Exploraciones efectuadas en la región de Trapananda antes del siglo XIX" (PDF). Boletín de la Academia de Historia Naval y Marítima de Chile (in Spanish): 95–110. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  4. Urbina Carrasco, Ximena (2016). "Interacciones entre españoles de Chiloé y Chonos en los siglos XVII y XVIII: Pedro y Francisco Delco, Ignacio y Cristóbal Talcapillán y Martín Olleta" [Interactions between Spaniards of Chiloé and Chonos in the XVII and XVII centuries: Pedro and Francisco Delco, Ignacio and Cristóbal Talcapillán and Martín Olleta](PDF). Chungara (in Spanish). 48 (1): 103–114. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  5. Talbott, Robert D. (1974). A history of the Chilean boundaries (A Replica ed.). The Iowa State University Press. p. 83. ISBN   0-8138-0305-5.
  6. Blue Marine Foundation, Patagonia
  7. Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), 2021, Encuentran refugio de crianza de ballena franca austral en la Patagonia chilena

47°22′S74°50′W / 47.367°S 74.833°W / -47.367; -74.833