Drake Passage

Icebergs near South Shetland Islands

Tourist expedition ship crssing the Drake Passage to Antarctica

Drake Passage, named after its discoverer, Sir Francis Drake, separates Cape Horn in South America from the South Shetland Islands in the British Antarctic Territory, and from Antarctica generally.

The passage was first entered by Sir Francis Drake in 1598, during his famed cicumnavigation of the world: havingpassed through the stormy Straits of Magellan, his ship was driven south, to discover the open sea to the south. The passge was first traversed in 1615 by Willem Corneliszoon Schouten (1580-1625), who recorded the earlier names 'Drake Sea'.

The passage connects the Scotia Sea, which is the south-western part of the Atlantic Ocean, with the south-eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. It may be considered a part of the Southern Ocean. The Drake Passage is considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make. Currents at its latitude meet no resistance from any landmass, and waves top 40 feet, giving it a reputation for being "the most powerful convergence of seas".

As the Drake Passage is the narrowest passage around Antarctica, its existence and shape strongly influence the circulation of water around Antarctica and the global oceanic circulation, as well as the global climate. The bathymetry of the Drake Passage plays an important role in the global mixing of oceanic water.

History

During Sir Francis Drake's expedition against Spanish America, he passed through the Strait of Magellan with Marigold, Elizabeth, and his flagship Golden Hind, Drake entered the Pacific Ocean and was blown far south in a tempest. Marigold was lost and Elizabeth abandoned the fleet. Only Drake's Golden Hind entered the passage. This incident demonstrated to the English that there was open water south of South America.

In 1616, Dutch navigator Willem Schouten became the first to sail around Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage.

Location

• Location map: 58°0’0"S, 65°0’0"W

Outsdie links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Drake Passage)

• A NASA image of an eddy in the Passage

References

• Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Drake Passage

"6 men become 1st to cross perilous Drake Passage unassisted". 2019-12-28. https://apnews.com/article/733e3eda7d1f318cc8beabd961c424d3. 

Sugden, John (2006). Sir Francis Drake. London: Pimlico. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-844-13762-6. 

Martinic B., Mateo (2019). "Entre el mito y la realidad. La situación de la misteriosa Isla Elizabeth de Francis Drake" (in Spanish). Magallania 47 (1): 5–14. doi:10.4067/S0718-22442019000100005. 

Quanchi, Max (2005). Historical dictionary of the discovery and exploration of the Pacific islands. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810853957.