WELCOME TO
THIS POST!
A LOVELY VIEW FOR MY READERS!
THIS IS THE ROMANCHE GLACIER ON THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
Click to enlarge
Source: Inconsequential, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
This post was
written to take part in the Blog Hop called Finish the Sentence Friday (FTSF)
The prompt
for this work is as follows:
“If I could
go back and do something over it would be….”
My answer
to that is:
I would
have organized my time and my savings and taken the cruise through the Beagle
Channel in the extreme South of Chile!
The reasons
should be obvious to the readers of this post.
THE BEAGLE
CHANNEL.
This
beautiful channel is located in the extreme southern tip of South America.
It is one
of the three navigable passages in South America that join the Pacific and the
Atlantic Ocean.
From north
to south, these three passages are:
- The Straits of Magellan
- The Beagle Channel
- The Drake Passage
The first
two twist and turn among the islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, and the Drake Passage is
situated further south than the most extreme tip of the South American continent,
which is Cape Horn.
The only
passage that can take the huge modern container ships is the Drake Passage,
which is really located on the open ocean waters. The other two are rather
narrow.
The Beagle
channel is used for the smaller ships that traverse the area. There are also
various tours that use this waterway using medium sized passenger ships.
A MAP SHOWING THE THREE PASSAGES
Click to enlarge
Source: Createaccount, CC BY SA 3.0.Wikimedia Commons
GEOGRAPHY
OF THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
The Channel
runs along the southern edge of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the large main island of the Archipelago of
Tierra del Fuego and touches several smaller islands, such as Picton, Lennox,
Nueva, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry and Stewart.
The eastern
end of the channel is a shared border between Chile and Argentina, but the
western end is totally Chilean.
THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
Click to enlarge
Source: Createaccount, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE CHANNEL
Click to enlarge
Source: Ted Wakabayashi, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
THE NAMING
OF THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
This
Channel takes its name from the ship HMS Beagle, the famous ship that went on a
surveying expedition in these waters.
Most of the
fame of this expedition is due to the fact that Charles Darwin was the
scientist and observer on board and many of his writings refer to his findings,
with reference to fossils, geological elements and the flora and fauna he
recorded during his time in these areas.
THE
GLACIERS ON THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
The Beagle
Channel contains many glaciers, and Darwin reports that he was amazed by them.
Coming in
through the western entrance, you can see the following glaciers:
- Holanda Glacier
- Italia Glacier
- Francia Glacier
- Alemania Glacier
- Romanche Glacier
- España Glacier
Darwin
describes these glaciers as being “beryl blue” in color. He also writes that
they make a beautiful contrast with the white snow.
THE ITALIA GLACIER
Click to enlarge
Source: Rayandbee, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons
THE NAMING
OF AN ISLAND AT THE WESTERN END OF THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
The names of
some islands are included in the paragraph above that refers to some general
aspects of the Beagle Channel.
The last
name on the list of islands corresponds to Stewart Island.
I’m very
interested in this one, because it was named after my Great-Grandfather, a
Scotsman from Edinburgh who came to Chile and joined the Chilean Navy as an
Engineering Officer.
He was an
expert on steam boilers, and the use of coal and steam for ships was a
relatively new technological challenge at that time.
His name
was John Robert Stewart; he was the first European to survey that particular
island, and the Chilean Navy named it after him.
I wrote an
extensive article about this on Hubpages, which can be found through this link: The Naming of a Chilean Patagonian Island
THE HOLANDA GLACIER
Click to enlarge
Source: Rayandbee, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons
THE BEAGLE CHANNEL, A SYMPHONY IN GREY
Click to enlarge
Source: Ute D. Mayer, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
CONCLUDING
WORDS
Chile is a
really wonderful country! So many places to visit and adventures to be lived!
I do hope
you have enjoyed this post and that you will read up some of the others I have
posted on this Blog!
See you on
my next post!
SPANISH
VERSION
(This Blog
is bilingual)
Este post corresponded a un Blog Hop organizado por mi grupo
de Blogueras y Blogueros. Cada semana recibimos una frase y debemos completarla
con la idea básica del post.
Para esta semana he escrito este post sobre el Canal de
Beagle en el extremo sur de Chile.
EL CANAL DE BEAGLE
Esta vía marítima es uno de los tres pasos mediante los que
es posible navegar desde el Océano Atlántico al Océano Pacífico y viceversa.
De Norte a Sur, los tres pasos son:
- El Estrecho de Magallanes
- El Canal de Beagle
- El Paso de Drake
El Paso de Drake se ubica a mar abierto al sur del Cabo de
Hornos. Es el único que permite el paso de los grandes navíos de la actualidad.
Los otros dos pasos se abren su camino entre el conglomerado
de islas del Archipiélago de Tierra del Fuego. Por su estrechez, se utilizan
para los navíos más pequeños y para los viajes turísticos.
GEOGRAFIA DEL CANAL DE BEAGLE
Este canal rodea el extremo sur de la Isla Grande de Tierra
del Fuego. Además también toma contacto con varias islas pequeñas, tales como Picton,
Lennox, Nueva, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry y Stewart.
El extremo occidental del Canal corresponde al límite entre
Argentina y Chile y por tanto es compartido, pero el extremo occidental es
totalmente chileno.
EL ORIGEN DEL NOMBRE DEL CANAL DE BEAGLE
Su nombre se debe al famoso barco HMS Beagle, que navegó por
estas aguas haciendo levantamientos topográficos, contando también con la
presencia de Charles Darwin, el renombrado naturista.
LOS GLACIARES
El Canal de Beagle contiene numerosos glaciares y Darwin
escribió sobre ellos en sus notas. Según su descripción, los glaciares
presentaban tonos de azul berilio y hacían un bello contraste con la blancura
de las nieves.
Entrando al Canal por el extremo oeste, se pueden observar
los siguientes glaciares: Holanda, Italia, Francia, Alemania, Romanche y
España.
EL NOMBRE DE UNA ISLA UBICADA A LA SALIDA AL OCEANO
PACIFICO.
En un párrafo anterior mencioné una serie de islas
conectadas con el Canal de Beagle.
La última de la lista es la Isla Stewart.
Esta Isla es de gran interés para mí, por cuanto lleva el
nombre de mi Bis-Abuelo, un escocés de Edimburgo
que vino a Chile y sirvió en la Armada de Chile como Ingeniero Naval
especialista en calderas a vapor.
Su nombre era John Robert Stewart y sobre él escribí un largo
artículo al que se puede acceder en el link ingresado en la versión inglesa de
este post.
PALABRAS FINALES.
¡Chile es un país maravilloso! Hay tantos lugares para
visitar y es posible vivir tantas aventuras en estas tierras.
Espero les haya gustado este post.
¡Los espero para la próxima!
How is your level of comprehension? ¿Cómo
está su nivel de comprensión?
© 2013 jveronr (Joan Robertson)
I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just
click the word “comments” lower down.
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