The southern coast of

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 ...

presents a large number of

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) 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 ...

(55° S) to

Reloncaví Estuary Reloncaví Estuary (Spanish: Esturario de Reloncaví, archaic: Sin Fondo) is a fjord off Reloncaví Sound, located in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. Several National Parks and Wilderness Areas are situated in the vicinity of this fjord. Among t ...

(42° S). Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Aren ...

Puerto Chacabuco Puerto Chacabuco is a Chilean town in Aisén commune. Administratively it belongs to Aysén Province in Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region and is located at the head of Aisén Fjord. It is the main port of the region, a port of ...

and

Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part ...

History

Indigenous peoples

The earliest known inhabitants of the fjords and channels were, from north to south, the Chono, Alacalufe and

Yaghan Yaghan, Yagán or Yahgan may refer to: * Yahgan people, an ethnic group of Argentina and Chile * Yahgan language Yahgan or Yagán (also spelled Yaghan, Jagan, Iakan, and also known as Yámana, Háusi Kúta, or Yágankuta), is an extinct language ...

, all of whom shared a life style as canoe-faring hunter-gatherers. They also shared physical traits such as being of low stature, long-headed (''Dolichocephalic''), and having a "low face".Trivero Rivera 2005, p. 42. Despite similarities their languages were completely different.Trivero Rivera 2005, p. 33. The Chono moved around in the area 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 ...

to 50° S and the Alacalufe from 46° S to the

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 considered the most important natural pass ...

. Thus both groups overlapped in

Gulf of Penas 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. Geography It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the la ...

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 other islands. Yaghans inhabited a reduced area south of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. It is often assumed that Chonos were the people who left behind most of the abundant Pre-Historic

shell middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

(chonchales) of

, yet this claim is unverified.Trivero Rivera 2005, p. 39.

Guaitecas Archipelago Guaitecas Archipelago is a sparsely populated archipelago in the Aisén region of Chile. The archipelago is made up of eight main islands and numerous smaller ones. The eight largest islands are from northwest to southeast: Gran Guaiteca, Ascenci ...

made up the southern limit of Pre-Hispanic agriculture as noted by the mention of the cultivation of

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

by a Spanish expedition in 1557. Both Chonos and Alacalufes used ''

Pilgerodendron uviferum ''Pilgerodendron'' is a genus of conifer belonging to the cypress family Cupressaceae. It has only one species, ''Pilgerodendron uviferum'', which is endemic to the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests of southern Ch ...

'' as firewood as well as wood for rows, boats and houses.

Colonial expeditions and decline of the Chono

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...

sought originally to conquer all of southern South America to the

Straits 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 considered the most important natural pass ...

(53° S). He did however only reach

Reloncaví Sound Reloncaví Sound or ''Seno de Reloncaví'' is a body of water immediately south of Puerto Montt, a port city in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. It is the place where the Chilean Central Valley meets the Pacific Ocean. The Calbuco Archipelago com ...

(41°45' S). Later in 1567

(42°30' S) was conquered, from there on southern expansion of the Spanish Empire halted. The Spanish are thought to have lacked incentives for further conquests south. The indigenous populations were scarce and had ways of life that differed from the sedentary agricultural life the Spanish were accustomed to. The harsh climate in the fjords and channels of Patagonia may also have deterred further expansion. Indeed, even in Chiloé did the Spanish encounter difficulties to adapt as their attempts to base the economy on

gold extraction Gold extraction refers to the processes required to extract gold from its ores. The great majority of gold is extracted from dilute ores using a combination of chemical processes. About 2000 tons are obtained from the earth annually, plus anothe ...

and a "hispanic-mediterranean" agricultural model failed.Torrejón, Fernando; Cisternas, Marco; Alvial, Ingrid and Torres, Laura. 2011
Consecuencias de la tala maderera colonial en los bosques de alece de Chiloé, sur de Chile (Siglos XVI-XIX)*
''

Magallania ''Magallania'' is an academic journal published by the University of Magallanes. It publishes articles on social sciences and humanities regarding Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least- ...

''. Vol. 39(2):75–95. During colonial times, the fjords and channels of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

were first explored by the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

. There were a number of motivations for their explorations, including a desire to Christianize indigenous peoples, to prevent intrusions of foreign powers into territory claimed by Spain, to increase geographic knowledge of the zone, and finally, to search for a

mythical city Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

called

City of the Caesars The City of the Caesars (Spanish Ciudad de los Césares), also variously known as ''City of Patagonia'', ''the Wandering City'', ''Trapalanda'' or ''Trapananda'', ''Lin Lin'' or ''Elelín'', is a mythical city of South America. It was supposedly ...

. False rumors of European settlements near the Straits of Magellan led the Spanish to organize the

Antonio de Vea expedition The Antonio de Vea expedition of 1675–1676 was a Spanish naval expedition to the fjords and channels of Patagonia aimed to find whether rival colonial powers—specifically, the English—were active in the region. While this was not the first ...

of 1675–1676, the largest expedition to the date. In 1792, the

viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...

ordered the exploration of the Patagonian channels in order to find an entrance to the interior of Patagonia. The said order was carried of by José de Moraleda who led an expedition that visited many of the main channels of the zone. Following the decline of the Chono populations in the archipelago in the 18th century, the area gained a reputation of "emptiness" among Chileans akin to the description of eastern Patagonia as a "desert." However, the islands were often visited and traversed in the 19th century by fishermen,

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

s, and hunters from Chiloé. This makes it clear that many areas that were traversed by explorers were already known to the inhabitants of southern Chiloé who visited these areas for wood, fish or hunting. Over-all the physical infrastructure of the Spanish in the fjords and channels during the colonial period was negligible and consisted of a few chapels built in the 1610s and 1620s and a wooden fortress built in 1750. All these buildings were abandoned after a few years.

19th century: Explorations and first settlements

Chilean and European exploration

In the early to mid 19th century, explorations by hydrographers like

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

and

Francisco Hudson Ancud.html" ;"title="Punta Arenas by sea from Ancud">Punta Arenas by sea from Ancud, and in orange Hudson's proposed route. The red dot shows the 20 km wide Ofqui Isthmus the only obstacle that makes this route intransitable. --> Francisco Hudson C ...

increased knowledge on the channels. With Hudson's death in 1859

Francisco Vidal Gormaz Francisco Vidal Gormaz (July 1, 1837 in Santiago, Chile, Santiago, Chile – February 5, 1907) was a Chilean naval officer and hydrographer who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and su ...

continued the explorations, a duty that

Enrique Simpson Enrique Simpson Baeza (Valparaíso, 1835–Valparaíso, May 17, 1901) was a Chilean Navy officer and explorer. Simpson mapped the archipelagoes and coast of Aysén Region onboard of the corvette ''Chacabuco'' in the 1870s. Among his feats is the re ...

assumed in the 1870s. The channels south of 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 ...

were explored in detail by Chilean government agent

Hans Steffen 250px, Picture of Dr. Hans Steffen in 1916 Hans Steffen Hoffman (20 July 1865, in Fürstenwerder, Prussia – 7 April 1936, in Davos, Switzerland) was a German geographer and explorer of the Aysén Region in western Patagonia. Steffen also w ...

in the late 19th century. During his explorations and charting in the second half of the 19th century Vidal Gormaz became critical of the work of

and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

whom according to him had failed acknowledge the importance of the Patagonian islands.

''Pilgerodendron'' boom

Felipe Westhoff, a German-Lithuanian immigrant who operated a ''

'' logging business from

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

, founded

Melinka Melinka is a Chilean town in Aysén Province, Aysén Region. It is located on Ascención Island and is the administrative center of the commune of Guaitecas since 1979. The town is on a small peninsula off the main island, and shelters a small ...

in 1860. This was the first permanent settlement in the archipelago. Chilean authorities granted Westhoff exclusive rights on ''Pilgerodendron'' extraction in the archipelago and bestowed him the title of '' subdelegado marítimo'' which gave him some duties and authority over the archipelago, in reality it meant little since he did no had the means to enforce the law or his rights. After Westhoff's retirement in the 1870s

Ciriaco Álvarez Ciriaco Álvarez was a businessman from Chonchi, Chiloé who rose to prominence in the exploitation of ''Pilgerodendron uviferum'' ( es, ciprés de las Guaitecas) in the southern Chilean archipelagoes. His dominance of the industry led him being du ...

rose to prominence as the foremost ''Pilgerodendron'' businessman. The chief export products of Álvarez were

poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and

vine training The use of vine training systems in viticulture is aimed primarily to assist in canopy management with finding the balance in enough foliage to facilitate photosynthesis without excessive shading that could impede grape ripening or promote grape ...

stacks that went to northern Chile and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Álvarez business owned him the nickname of "The King of Pilgerodendron" ( es, El Rey del Ciprés) and had great effects on the incipient

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

that came to link the archipelagoes of Chiloé, Guaitecas and Chonos.

Climate and geography

This route is mostly used by vessels desiring to avoid the heavy seas and bad weather so often experienced on passing into 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 ...

from the western end of the

. The large full-powered mail steamers generally at once gain the open sea at Cape Pillar (at the west entrance of the Strait of Magellan), as experience has shown that time is thus saved to them; but vessels of less engine power, to which punctuality and dispatch is not so much an object as avoiding possible danger, will find the Patagonian Channels the best route. The general features of these channels are high, abrupt shores, with innumerable peaks and headlands remarkably alike in character, their bold, rugged heads giving an appearance of gloomy grandeur rarely seen elsewhere. The shores are generally steep-to and the channels, for the most part, open and free, while the few dangers that exist are usually marked by kelp. The tides are regular and not strong, except in the English Narrows. In the case of the two above mentioned and some other fjords, these waterways proved of value as transport lanes when western Patagonia was settled and incorporated into Chile. On the other hand, the fjords have served as a natural barrier preventing north-south land travel in Chilean Patagonia.

Legal status of the waterways

All waters between the Chilean baselines and the continental shoreline are

internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wat ...

, according to the Chilean decree 416 of 14 June 1977 based in the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

, that is, the coastal nation is free to set laws, regulate any use, and use any resource. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters, and this lack of right to

innocent passage Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the archipelagic and territorial waters of another state, subject to certain restrictions. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 19 ...

is the key difference between internal waters and

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

. Chile allows the use of the main waterways under maritime authority dispositions for the following navigation lanes (all names in Spanish): a) throughout the Strait of Magellan: Punta Dúngenes - Primera Angostura - Segunda Angostura, Paso Nuevo -Paso Inglés - Paso Tortuoso - Paso Largo - Paso del Mar - Cabo Pilar (and back). b) from Cabo Tamar to isla San Pedro : Cabo Tamar - Canal Smyth - Canal Mayne or Canal Gray - Paso Victoria - Estrecho Collingwood - Paso Farquhar - Canal Sarmiento - Angostura Guías - Canal Inocentes - Canal Concepción - Paso Caffin - Canal Trinidad - either Pacific Ocean, (and back) or to continue Canal Wide - either (east route) Canal Icy - Canal Grappler or (west route) Canal Escape - Paso del Abismo or Paso Piloto Pardo - Canal Escape; then Paso del Indio - Angostura Inglesa - Canal Messier to Isla San Pedro, (and back) or from Cabo Ladrillero to Canal Concepción to inner channels (and back) c) From Strait of Magellan to Puerto Natales or Puerto Bories: from Isla Brinkley - Seno Unión - Canal Morla Vicuña - Canal y angostura Kirke - Canal Valdés, Golfo Almirante Montt - Canal Señoret - Seno Última Esperanza - Puerto Natales - Puerto Bories (and back) d) from Strait of Magellan to Puerto Williams: from islote Anxious - Canal Magdalena - Canal Cockburn - Paso Brecknock or Canal Ocasión - Canal Unión - Paso Occidental - Paso Norte - Canal Ballenero- Canal O'Brien - Paso Timbales - Brazo noroeste del Canal Beagle - Canal Beagle - Puerto Williams (and back).(Chilean ships can use Paso Aguirre) e) from Puerto Williams to Cabo de Hornos: Canal Beagle - Paso Picton - Paso Richmond - to Cabo de Hornos (and back) f) to the east Beagle Channel: Ships coming from east can access through the eastern mouth, northeast of Isla Nueva or through the Pasos Richmond and Picton. g) to Seno Otway and Seno Skyring: from Isla Carlos III - Canal Jerónimo - Seno Otway - Canal Fitz-Roy - Seno Skyring to Bahía Mina Elena (and back). h) to Isla Guarello: from Isla Inocentes - Canal Concepción - Canal Oeste - Seno Contreras - Bahía Corbeta Papudo in Isla Guarello, (and back), or from Bahía Corbeta Papudo in Isla Guarello - Seno Contreras - Paso Metalero (and back). i) throughout Chonos Archipelago: *from isla Inchemó - Bahía Anna Pink - Boca Wickham - Canal Pulluche - Canal Chacabuco - Canal Errázuriz - Canal Moraleda until Gulf of Corcovado and Boca del Guafo (and back) or *from isla Inchemó - Bahía Anna Pink - Boca Wickham - Canal Pulluche - Canal Utarupa - Canal Darwin -Canal Moraleda to Gulf of Corcovado and Boca del Guafo (and back) or *from isla Auchilú, - Bahía Darwin - Canal Darwin - Canal Moraleda to Gulf of Corcovado and Boca del Guafo (and back) or *from Bahía Adventure - Isla Liebre - Canal Niñualac - Canal Moraleda to Gulf of Corcovado and Boca del Guafo (and back). j) to bahía Chacabuco: from Canal Moraleda - Paso del Medio or Canal Pilcomayo or Canal Ferronave - Seno Aysén to Bahía Chacabuco (and back). k) to Laguna San Rafael: *from Canal Moraleda - Paso Casma - Canal Costa - Estero Elefante - Paso Quesahuén - Golfo Elefantes and Río Témpanos - Laguna San Rafael (and back) or *from Canal Moraleda - Canal Errázuriz - Paso Tres Cruces - Estero Elefantes - Paso Quesahuén - Golfo Elefantes and Río Témpanos - Laguna San Rafael (and back). l) through the inner channels of Chiloé: from Boca del Guafo or Golfo Corcovado to Puerto Montt or to Golfo de Coronados, (and back) throughout the inner Channels heading to ports and bays m) to Puerto Montt through Canal de Chacao: from golfo Coronados - Canal de Chacao - Golfo de Ancud - Canal Calbuco or Paso Queullín - Seno de Reloncaví - Paso Guar - Puerto Montt (and back).

Transportation

Since it is impossible to reach all the region by road through Chile, the transport of persons and cargo must be done by ship or airplanes according to the public infrastructure provision.

Ferry lanes

In order to carry significant quantities of persons, vehicles, and cargo directly onto an unimproved shore to supply the islands and coastal region including settlements, the

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

is the best suited ship type and most of them are basically a cargo boat with no fancy, cruiser-type accommodation, even though they have managed to improve their customer service. There are 150 major ships sailing in the southern regions of Chile.

Cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s also operate between the main ports of the region and offer a journey that is considered an experience in itself, due to the slow way of entering this magnificent landscape of narrow channels and solitary islands. The

Carretera Austral The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia. Carretera Austral provides road access t ...

requires the use of three ferries: a 30-minute crossing about south of the start of the highway in

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spa ...

, a 5-hour crossing from

Hornopirén Hornopirén is a town ( es, pueblo) in the commune of Hualaihué in Palena Province, Zona Austral, southern Chile. It lies along the northern portion of Carretera Austral. The town had 3,629 inhabitants as of 2017. Hornopirén is an important touri ...

( south of Puerto Montt) to Caleta Gonzalo and a 50-minute crossing from Puerto Yungay to Rio Bravo, connecting to the final of the highway. With the exception of

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

, the region is sparsely inhabited. The main ports are: Puerto Montt,

Quellón Quellón is a Chilean port city and commune in Chiloé Province, in southern Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region. It is considered the southern end-station of the Panamerican Highway and the Pacific Coast Highway. The city is a hub for aquaculture ...

Chaitén Chaitén (, ) is a Chilean town, commune and former capital of the Palena Province in Los Lagos Region. The town is north of the mouth of Yelcho River, on the east coast of the Gulf of Corcovado. The town is strategically close to the northern end ...

, Puyuguapi,

, Porvenir and

Puerto Williams Puerto Williams (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Port Williams") is the city, port and naval base on Navarino Island in Chile. It faces the Beagle Channel. It is the Capital city, capital of Antártica Chilena Province, the Chilean Antarctic Prov ...

. South of Chiloé, there are also small ports like Villa Puerto Edén, Bahía Corbeta Papudo on

Guarello Island Guarello Island (Spanish: ''Isla Guarello'') is an island in Madre de Dios Island, Madre de Dios Archipelago in Magallanes Region. Guarello Island is in a limestone area that also includes Madre de Dios Island. The island has the world's southernm ...

Puerto Bories Puerto Bories, about 4 km from downtown Puerto Natales, was a small "company town" whose focus was a "frigorifico"—a sheep meat and wool processing plant belonging to the Sociedad_Explotadora_de_Tierra_del_Fuego, Sociedad Explotadora de Ti ...

Puerto Navarino Puerto Navarino is a Chilean port on the Beagle Channel in western Navarino Island opposite Ushuaia in Argentina. Puerto Navarino is part of Cabo de Hornos commune. It is 54km west of Puerto Williams along a gravel road. It is one of the most south ...

Puerto Toro Puerto Toro is a hamlet on the eastern coast of Navarino Island, Chile. Puerto Toro was founded in 1892 during the Tierra del Fuego Gold Rush by Governor of Punta Arenas Señoret.Bascopé Julio, JoaquínSENTIDOS COLONIALES I. EL ORO Y LA VIDA SALVA ...

, and Caleta Eugenia.This list doesn't include the lakes. Despite the name, Puerto Aisen is not a port.

The Isthmus of Ofqui canal project

In order to open a direct passage from the

Moraleda Channel Moraleda Channel () is a body of water separating the Chonos Archipelago from the mainland of Chile. It is located at , leading to Gulf of Corcovado. Southward from the mouth of the Aisén Fjord, Moraleda Channel divides into two arms. The east a ...

to the

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 ...

without to go out into the open Pacific Ocean to round 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 ...

, the Chilean Government ordered in 1937 the construction of a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

from the

San Rafael Lagoon San Rafael Lake is an arc-shaped coastal lake located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile, within the national park that bears its name. To the north the lagoon is connected to the Moraleda Channel, to the south l ...

through the isthmus (2,200 m long, 17 m wide, 5 m depth) to the Negro River, that later should be

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

. 1937 began the work on the ground, under the management of the railways department of the

Ministry of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

. Work continued until May 1943 when funds ran out. The map on the right shows the ''Laguna San Rafael'' and the ''Golfo Elefantes'', they are the southernmost part of the

. The ''Golfo San Esteban'' can be seen as the northernmost part of the

Chacao Channel bridge

The Chacao Channel bridge, also known as Chiloé Bicentennial Bridge, is a planned bridge that is to link the island of Chiloé with mainland

crossing the

Chacao Channel The Chacao Channel ( es, Canal de Chacao) is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates Chiloé Island from mainland Chile. The channel was created during the Quaternary glaciations by successive glaciers that flowed down from the Andes to ...

. It was one of the several projects that were planned to commemorate the Chile's bicentennial in 2010. If completed as a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

, it would be the largest such bridge in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Main fjords and channels

Chacao to Guafo

::Access to the

Sea of Chiloé 250px, Map of the Sea of Chiloé, located between Continental Chiloé ">Palena_Province.html" ;"title="Chiloé Island and Palena Province">Continental Chiloé The sea of Chiloé (Spanish: ''Mar de Chiloé'' or ''Mar Chilote'') is a marginal sea ...

and

::Settlements: Chacao *

Calbuco Channel Calbuco Channel (Spanish: ''Canal de Calbuco'') is a sea channel that separates Calbuco Island from the mainland of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost co ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Comau Fjord Comau Fjord, also known as Leptepu Fjord, is a fjord that penetrates the mainland of Chile, in Los Lagos Region. It runs in a generally north–south direction from the Gulf of Ancud 250px, Map of the Sea of Chiloé and nearby roads. The Gulf ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Dalcahue Channel Dalcahue Channel (Spanish language, Spanish: ''"Canal de Dalcahue"'') is a body of water of the Sea of Chiloé that separates Quinchao Island from Chiloé Island, both part of the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile. The town of Dalcahue is locat ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Hornopirén Channel ::Access to Hornopirén area ::Settlements:

* Piti Palena Fjord ::Access to ::Settlements:

Raúl Marin Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

* Apiao Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: * Paso Desertores ::Access to ::Settlements: *

::Access to

Puelo River The Puelo River has its origin in Lake Puelo in Argentine, and flows north-west through the Andes into Chile and the Reloncaví Estuary of the Reloncaví Sound at the northern end of the Gulf of Ancud. Course Just downstream from its source in ...

Todos los Santos Lake Lake Todos los Santos (Spanish for "All Saints Lake") is a lake located in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile, 96 km northeast of the regional capital Puerto Montt and 76 km east of Puerto Varas, within the boundaries of the Vicen ...

and Vuriloche Pass ::Settlements: Canutillar,

Cochamó Cochamó is a Chilean town and commune located in Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region. The capital of the commune is the town of ''Río Puelo'', which is named after the Puelo River. History This sprawling commune was established in 1979; its ...

* Reñihué Fjord ::Access to

::Settlements: Caleta Gonzalo

Guaitecas to the Gulf of Penas

* Aysén Fjord ::Access to

Coyhaique Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentiet ...

area ::Settlements:

Baker Channel Baker Channel, also known as Calen Inlet, is a channel of Chile located in the Tortel, Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The Baker River discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of this large estuary. It penetrates t ...

::Access to

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

and

Pascua River The Pascua River is a river located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile. In spite of being a short river, its drainage basin is the seventh-largest in the country due to the great size of the O'Higgins/San Martín ...

area ::Settlements:

Caleta Tortel Caleta Tortel is a coastal village ( es, aldea) in Chile. It is the administrative centre of the commune of Tortel and is located between the mouth of the Baker River the largest river in Chile and a small embayment of the Baker Channel. The surr ...

* Estero Capquelan ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Mitchell Fjord Mitchell Fjord is a 30- to 50-km long fjord in Aysén Region, Chile, stretching southeast from the vicinities of Baker Channel into the valley of Bravo River. Through a ferry based on Puerto Yungay, the channel provides access to the southernmos ...

::Access to

Villa O'Higgins __NOTOC__ Villa O'Higgins is a small town in the Aysén Region of southern Chile, located 220 km south of Cochrane and 550 km south of Coyhaique. Founded in 1966 and named after the Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins, it is the capital ...

and O'Higgins Lake ::Settlements:

Puerto Yungay Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

Darwin Channel The Darwin Channel forms a westward continuation of the Aisén Fjord and links it to the Pacific Ocean at Isquiliac Island. It is located in the coast of Chile at approximately 45.4° south latitude. This is one of the main channels situated betwe ...

(not to be confused with

Darwin Sound The Darwin Sound is an expanse of seawater which forms a westward continuation of the Beagle Channel and links it to the Pacific Ocean at Londonderry Island and Stewart Island, not far from the southern tip of South America. It thus forms a naviga ...

) ::Access to ::Settlements: *

::Access to northern

Aysén Region The Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region ( es, Región de Aysén, , '), often shortened to Aysén Region or Aisén,Examples of name usage1, official regional government site refers to the region as "Región de Aysén"., Chile's of ...

::Settlements: *

Puyuhuapi Channel Puyuhuapi (from the Mapudungun ''puye'', small fish and ''huapi'', island), also Cai Channel ( NGA UFI=-897934) is a sea channel separating Magdalena Island from the mainland of Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region in Chile. The ...

::Access to Villa La Tapera ::Settlements:

Puerto Cisnes Puerto Cisnes (Spanish for: "port swans") is a town and seaport in Cisnes commune, Aysén Province, Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region in the Chilean Patagonia. The town is on the Puyuhuapi Channel at the outflow of Cisnes Rive ...

* Ventisquero Sound ::Access to ::Settlements:

Gulf of Penas to Straits of Magellan

** English Narrows ** Guía Narrows ::Safe sea-lane from Central Chile to

and

::Settlements: Villa Puerto Edén * Concepción Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Wide Channel Wide Channel is an inside passage of the Chilean Patagonia. It is long, extending northward from the junction of Concepción Channel and Trinidad Channel, to Saumarez Island. The channel is located at .Earth Info, ''earth-info.nga.mil'' webpage ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Inocentes Channel Inocentes Channel (Spanish ''Canal Inocentes'') is a strait in Chile that reaches from the Guía Narrows (''Angostura Guías'') 18 miles to the northern extreme of Inocentes Island, where it joins the Concepción Channel. The south side of the st ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Sarmiento Channel Sarmiento Channel is a principal Patagonia channel, which extends in a north–south direction. It begins with the Guia Narrows ('' Angostura Guía'') and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The kawésqar people sailed its wa ...

::Safe sea-lane from Central Chile to

and

::Settlements: * Señoret Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: * Peel Fjord ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Eyre Fjord Eyre Fjord is a fjord in 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 l ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Fallos Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Trinidad Channel 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 occ ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Ladrillero Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Picton Channel ''Picton Channel'' (Spanish: ''Canal Picton'') is a waterway in the Magallanes Region of Chile that continues southward the Ladrillero Channel, and it runs between the Chipana Island (east) and Mornington Island (Chile) (west). With the Ladrille ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Covadonga Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: * Albatros Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: * Adalbert Channel ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Esteban Channel Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

::Access to ::Settlements:

Tierra del Fuego and Puerto Natales

Nelson Strait (Chile) Nelson Strait is a channel in the Chilean Archipelago. It is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region of Chilean Patagonia. The Strait opens in the west to the Pacific Ocean, at , between the Diego de Almagro Island to the north and Ra ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Fjord of the Mountains ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Smyth Channel Smyth Channel () is a principal Patagonia channel (geography), channel. Its south arm is the southward continuation of the Sarmiento Channel and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The Alacaluf people, Kawésqar people lived alo ...

::Safe sea-lane from Central Chile to

and

::Settlements: * Seno Última Esperanza ::Access to ::Settlements: *

Eberhard Fjord Eberhard Fjord is an arm of Seno Ultima Esperanza in the Patagonian region of Chile. This surface water body was named after Hermann Eberhard, the first European to explore this region. Eberhard used the fjord to find the Cueva del Milodón, wher ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Agostini Fjord Agostini Fjord, also known as Agostini Sound (Spanish: seno Agostini), is a fjord in Tierra del Fuego that separates two branches of the Cordillera Darwin, the ''Cordón Navarro'' in the southwest and the mountain range that includes Monte Buckla ...

::Access to ::Settlements: * Almirantazgo Fjord ::Access to

Cami Lake Fagnano Lake ( es, Lago Fagnano), also called ''Lake Cami'' (), is a lake located on the main island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and shared by Argentina and Chile. The 645 km2 lake runs east–west for about 98 kilometres, of which ...

::Settlements: *

Canal Whiteside Canal Whiteside or Whiteside Channel is a channel in southern Chile, between Dawson Island (to the west) and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (to the east). It runs from the southern tip of Inútil Bay to Almirantazgo Fjord. It is clear of danger ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Inútil Bay 300px, Satellite image of Inútil Bay and the Strait of Magellan. Selected settlements are marked with yellow dots. Inútil Bay (Spanish: ''Bahía Inútil'') or Useless Bay is a bay in the western and Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego Island. Loc ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Seno Otway Seno Otway is a large inland sound lying between Brunswick Peninsula and Riesco Island in southern Chile. Alternatively called Otway Sound, this natural waterway occupies a valley blocked by a large terminal moraine left by the retreat of a glaci ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Seno Skyring Seno Skyring is a large inland sound lying north of Riesco Island and south of mainland South America in southern Chile. Alternatively called Skyring Sound, this natural waterway occupies a valley blocked by a large terminal moraine left by the ret ...

::Access to ::Settlements: *

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') 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 fr ...

::Safe sea-lane between the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and the South Pacific ::Settlements:

. *

(not to be confused with

) ::Access to

from the Pacific and the

::Settlements: *

Abra Channel Abra Channel (Spanish ''Canal Abra'', formerly ''Sea Shell Channel'') is one of the three channels which connects Magellan Strait with the Pacific Ocean (Others are Bárbara Channel and Magdalena Channel). It is located between the Santa Inés ...

:: Access to the

from

::Settlements: *

Magdalena Channel 350px, The channel is visible in the lower left corner. Magdalena Channel () is a Chilean channel joining the Strait of Magellan with the Cockburn Channel and is part of a major navigation route which ultimately connects with the Beagle Chann ...

::Access to the

from

::Settlements: *

Cockburn Channel The Cockburn Channel () is a channel that separates the Brecknock Peninsula, which is the westernmost projection of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, from Clarence Island, Capitán Aracena Island and other minor islands in Chile. It is located ...

::Access to the

from

, route from Beagle Channel to Strait of Magellan ::Settlements: *

Ballenero Channel The Ballenero Channel (Spanish: ''Canal Ballenero'') runs between the Tierra del Fuego and Cook, Londonderry and the Stewart Islands and joints the ''Pomar Channel'' (north of O'Brien Island) and ''O'Brien Channel'' (south of the O'Brien Island) ...

::Route from Beagle Channel to Strait of Magellan ::Settlements: *

** Punta Dúngenes ** Bahia Possession **

Primera Angostura Primera Angostura is a sound of the Strait of Magellan in the Chilean region of Magallanes. It is located near Punta Delgada. It lies between the commune of San Gregorio, in Magallanes Province, to the north, and the commune of Primavera, in ...

Segunda Angostura Segunda Angostura is a sound of the Strait of Magellan between the Patagonian mainland and Tierra del Fuego. It is located southwest of Primera Angostura, the narrowest part of the Strait between the island and the continent. The sound was named ...

Cape Froward Cape Froward () is the southernmost point of mainland South America. It is located in the Magallanes Region of Chile, along the north shore of Magellan Strait, being the southern tip of the Brunswick Peninsula. In January 1587, the English cor ...

** Evangelistas Lighthouse ::Safe sea-lane between the

and the South Pacific ::Settlements: Porvenir,

Camerón Villa Cameron is a hamlet ( es, aldea ) in southern Tierra del Fuego Island, and is the head of Timaukel commune, in Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region ( es, Región de Magall ...

Murray Channel The Murray Channel is a channel of Chile located in the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in the Antártica Chilena Province of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. It separates Hoste Island from Navarino Island and is bounded by the Beagle ...

::Connects

with

through Bahía Nassau ::

Pitt Channel Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh *Pitt (surname), a surname of ...

::Access to ::Settlements:

Gallery

File:0 125 2574 Puerto Edén (Villa Puerto Edén) - Chilenische Fjorde.jpg, Puerto Edén - Messier-Canal Image:Fiordo Comau.jpg,

in Pumalín Park Image:BeagleChannelGlacier.jpg,

Romanche Glacier Romanche Glacier is a glacier located in Alberto de Agostini National Park, Chile. A cascade from the glacier tumbles into the Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the ext ...

File:0 125 2589 Puerto Edén (Villa Puerto Edén) - Chilenische Fjorde.jpg, Puerto Edén - Messier-Canal Image:Beagle Channel 2006.JPG,

, January 2006 File:00 2605 Ship wreck in Chile (Patagonia).jpg, Messier-Canal File:00 0597 Puerto Edén - a place in the fjords in Chilean Patagonia.jpg, Puerto Edén - Messier-Canal Image:MV Logos.jpg, Shipwreck ''Logos'' in the Beagle Channel Image:Chili-Puerto Edén.jpg, Villa Puerto Edén in ''Paso del Indio'' Image:Caleta Tortel, Chile.jpg,

Image:Estuario de Reloncaví.jpg,

, Chilé's northernmost fjord Image:090111-6 Above ビーグル水道.jpg, Aerial view of

Image:Chile12.JPG, shipwreck in the

Image:2007-12-21 English-Narrows-Patagonian-Channels.JPG, MV ''Evangelistas'' passes English Narrows early in the morning, in journey from Puerto Natales to its destination, Puerto Montt. Image: 2019-03-14 CAPITÁIN LEONIDAS - IMO 5542705.jpg, Wreck of the ''Capitan Leonidas'' serves as a warning for the submerged Bajo Cotopaxi (Cotopaxi Bank) in the

. Image:Melinka.jpg, Aerial view of the Ascención Island, known as

Notes

References

* * * * *

United States Hydrographic Office The United States Hydrographic Office prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It was transfe ...

, South America Pilot (1916) * {{Authority control

Fjords In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

Straits of Chile Temperate South America