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 considered the most important natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was discovered and first traversed by Europeans by the Spanish expedition of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, after whom it is named. Prior to this, the strait had been navigated by canoe-faring indigenous peoples including the Kawésqar.
Beagle Channel is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from various smaller islands including the islands of Picton, Lennox and Nueva; Navarino; Hoste; Londonderry; and Stewart. The channel's eastern area forms part of the border between Chile and Argentina and the western area is entirely within Chile.
The Cordillera Sarmiento is a mountain range located in the Chilean Patagonia to the west of Puerto Natales named after Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who was a Spanish explorer who navigated the region's waterways between 1579 and 1580. It extends in north–south direction on the western shore of the Fjord of the Mountains and parallel to the Cordillera Riesco. The highest mountain in this range is La Dama Blanca, with an elevation of 1,941 m, which is located at 51°48′S73°24′W. It is a subrange of the Andes and has a number of small glaciers.
Messier Channel is a channel located in Patagonia, Chile. It trends north–south between Wellington Island and other Pacific islands and the continent, and is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Penas. Southward the name of this inside passage changes first to Angostura Inglesa and then to Paso del Indio.
Chile has a large and intricate coastline of 4000 km with myriads of islands, islets, straits, bays, and fjords.
Stosch Island is an island located between the Angamos Island (east) and the Covadonga (northwest) and Carlos Islands (west). The Ladrillero Channel runs at the East side. The Golfo Ladrillero is at the South shore of Stosch Island. At the West shore is the Pacific ocean.
The region of the Beagle Channel, explored by Robert FitzRoy in the 1830s, was one of the last 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.
The southern coast of Chile presents a large number of fjords and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of Cape Horn to Reloncaví Estuary. Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like Punta Arenas, Puerto Chacabuco and Puerto Natales.
Canal Whiteside or Whiteside Channel is a channel in southern Chile, between Dawson Island and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It runs from the southern tip of Inútil Bay to Almirantazgo Fjord. It is clear of dangers and deep; the eastern shore, which is low and fronted with shallow water, should not be approached within one mile; the western shore has no known dangers off-lying, and may be approached to a distance of about 1/4 mile.
Wide Channel is an inside passage of the Chilean Patagonia. It is 38 miles (61 km) long, extending northward from the junction of Concepción Channel and Trinidad Channel, to Saumarez Island. The channel is located at 49°54′S74°23′W.
Concepción Channel is an inside passage of the Chilean Patagonia. It extends from the point where Wide Channel and Trinidad Channel meet to the open sea. It is located at 50°30′S74°55′W and separates Madre de Dios Island and Duke of York Island, on the west side, from the Wilcock Peninsula and smaller islands, on the east side. Inocentes Channel is adjacent to the Concepción Channel.
Casma was an auxiliary ship of the Chilean Navy.
Inocentes Channel is a strait in Chile that reaches from the Guía Narrows 18 miles to the northern extreme of Inocentes Island, where it joins the Concepción Channel. The south side of the strait is formed by a succession of high cones sloping to the northwest and ending in the Clements Group.
Barbara Channel ) is one of the three channels which connects Magellan Strait with the Pacific Ocean. It is located between the Santa Inés Island and the Clarence Island and ends at the Otway Bay, having the same entrance into the Pacific as Cockburn Channel, runs in a north direction along the west side of Clarence Island.
Trinidad Channel is a channel in Chile that leads to seaward from the northern end of Concepción Channel, is exceedingly useful to pass out to the Pacific ocean from the Patagonian Channels in case it is desirable to avoid the possible delay occasioned by English Narrows in Messier Channel. Alert Harbor, at its western end, will, afford shelter to a number of large vessels.
The Ladrillero Channel is a strait between Angamos Island and Stosch Island in the Magallanes Region of Chile. It forms, with the Picton Channel and the Fallos Channel, an optional route to the Messier Channel-Grappler Channel-Wide Channel. It has several arms or fiords.
Fallos Channel is a waterway in the Aisen Region of Chile that runs north of Ladrillero Channel between the Little Wellington Island and Prat Island at the east and Campana Island at the west.
Francisco Cortés Ojea was a 16th-century Spanish sailor and explorer who took part in the first expeditions sent from the General Captaincy of Chile to the Strait of Magellan. The times and places of his birth and death have not been documented.
