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

Taitao Peninsula The Taitao Peninsula (Spanish: ''Península de Taitao'') is a westward projection of the mainland of Chile, with which it is connected by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boa ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Geography

It is open to the westerly storms of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, 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 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 passa ...

. To the south of the gulf lies

Guayaneco Archipelago The Guayaneco Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago Guayaneco) is an archipelago in southern Chile. It consists of 2 main islands, :es:Isla Wager (to the east), :es:Isla Byron (to the west), and many smaller islands. It was heavily glaciated during ...

and to the east lies San Javier Island and then the mainland.

History

Spanish explorers and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s that sailed south from

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

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 The Isthmus of Ofqui is a narrow isthmus that connects the Taitao Peninsula with the Chilean mainland. The isthmus is bounded in the south by the Gulf of Penas, in the north by the San Rafael Lagoon, in the west by the Taitao Peninsula and in the e ...

. In 1741 HMS ''Wager'', attempting to tack from a lee shore in a storm was wrecked along the coast of what would become known as

Wager Island Wager can refer to: Gambling * Wager, the amount of a valuable staked when gambling on an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material goods * Legal wager, required by both parties at the preliminary hearin ...

in the SE of the Gulf. Some of the survivors were rescued by Chono cheftain Martín Olleta and his men who took them on board their

dalca The dalca or piragua is a type of canoe employed by the Chonos, a nomadic indigenous people of southern Chile, and Huilliche people living in Chiloé archipelago. It was a light boat and ideal for navigating local waterways, including between is ...

s to the Spanish settlements of

. On December 1843 the Chilean schooner ''Ancud'' rescued the survivors of the wrecked French ship ''Fleuris'' o the shores of the gulf.

Flora and Fauna

Local wildlife includes

South American gray fox The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America. Description The South A ...

South Andean deer The south Andean deer (''Hippocamelus bisulcus''), also known as the southern guemal, south Andean huemul, southern huemul, or Chilean ''huemul'' or '' güemul'' ( , ), is an endangered species of deer native to the mountains of Argentina and Chi ...

South American sea lion The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the only member ...

s and

marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

s. The gulf is potentially a habitat for a number of

baleen whales Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their ...

, and is speculated to be a wintering/calving ground for the critically endangered population of

Southern Right Whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

.Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), 2021,
Encuentran refugio de crianza de ballena franca austral en la Patagonia chilena
'

References

* Penas Penas Penas Taitao Peninsula {{Aisén-geo-stub

Geography

History

Flora and Fauna

See Also

References