The Murray Channel is a

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

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 ...

located in the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in the Antártica Chilena Province of the

Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

. It separates

Hoste Island Hoste Island () is one of the southernmost islands in Chile, lying south, across the Beagle Channel, from Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and west of Navarino Island, from which it is separated by the Murray Channel. Hoste Island has the souther ...

from

Navarino Island Navarino Island () is a Chilean island located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belong ...

and is bounded by the

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 ...

to the north. The salinity of the Murray Channel is approximately 31.8 parts per thousand.

Prehistory

The

Yaghan people The Yahgan (also called Yagán, Yaghan, Yámana, Yamana or Tequenica) are a group of indigenous peoples in the Southern Cone. Their traditional territory includes the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, extending their presence int ...

s settled the lands along the Murray Channel approximately 10,000 years ago. There are notable archaeological sites indicating such early Yaghan settlement, such as

Bahia Wulaia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

Isla Navarino Navarino Island () is a Chilean island located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belong ...

, where the Bahia Wulaia Dome

Midden 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 ecofact ...

s are located.C. Michael Hogan, 2008

References

* César Cárdenas, Leen van Ofwegen, Américo Montie, and Dirk Schories (2008
''First Records of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) to the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Magellan Region, Chile''
* C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens'', The Megalithic Portal'', ed. A. Burnham

Line notes

External links

Comuna de Cabo de Hornos / Commune of Cabo de Hornos official website
Straits of Chile Bodies of water of Magallanes Region Landforms of Tierra del Fuego {{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub