Messier Channel is a channel located in western

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It trends north–south between Wellington Island and other Pacific islands and the continent. Maritime traffic traveling south from the Gulf of Penas passes between

Wager Island Wager Island () is an uninhabited island in Guayaneco Archipelago, a remote part of western Patagonia. Located south of Santiago, the island is part of Capitán Prat Province of the Aysén Region, Chile. The island was the location of the Wag ...

to the west and the Larenas Peninsula to the east to enter the Messier Channel. There is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

( NGA 2044) on Islote San Pedro, which is just to the east of Wager Island. Continuing further south, ships pass by Prat Island, Serrano Island, and Wellington Island. Southward the name of this inside passage changes first to ''

Angostura Inglesa English Narrows (Spanish ''Angostura Inglesa'') is a contracted passage in Messier Channel in the southwestern coast of Chile. Here it is only wide, but it presents no great difficulty or danger (excepting to very long vessels) unless a vessel go ...

'' (English Narrows) and then to ' (Indian Passage). The channel is named after

Charles Messier Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects'', referred to with th ...

, who was a French astronomer. It is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the Scandinavian sense of the word. A depth of 1,358 m has been measured in the north part of this channel, making it one of the deepest fjords in the world. Messier Channel is surrounded by the

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park Bernardo O'Higgins National Park () is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, covering an area of , in both the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, Aysén and Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region, Magallanes and Antárti ...

and the

Katalalixar National Reserve Katalalixar National Reserve is a natural reserve located in an archipelago between Southern Patagonian Ice Field, and Northern Patagonian Ice Field in Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile. The reserve was created in 1983 ...

. The Fallos- Ladrillero- Picton Channel combination is an optional route to the Messier- Grappler- Wide Channel route between the Golfo de Penas and the Trinidad Channel. At 48.745850S, 74.428750W is the wreck of MV ''Captain Leonidas'', a freighter that ran aground on the Bajo Cotopaxi (Cotopaxi Bank) in 1968. The hulk provides warning as both a shipwreck and

(NGA-nr: 2068, Adm.: G 1552), marking the northern terminus of ''Angostura Inglesa'' (English Narrows),

References

Past Glaciations and "Little Ice Ages"Multilingual substratum and superstratum in the toponymy of the south of Chile
(Spanish)
Piret et al. (2017) - Gridded bathymetry of the Baker-Martinez fjord complex (Chile, 48°S) v1
Straits of Chile Bodies of water of Aysén Region Bodies of water of Magallanes Region {{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub

See also

References