{"id":1184,"date":"2024-12-07T17:24:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T17:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/?page_id=1184"},"modified":"2024-12-07T17:49:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T17:49:04","slug":"fjords-and-channels-of-chile","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/index.php\/fjords-and-channels-of-chile\/","title":{"rendered":"Fjords and channels of Chile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The southern coast of Chile<\/a> presents a large number of fjords<\/a> and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of Cape Horn<\/a> (55\u00b0 S) to Reloncav\u00ed Estuary<\/a> (42\u00b0 S). Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like Punta Arenas<\/a>, Puerto Chacabuco<\/a> and Puerto Natales<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous peoples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The earliest known inhabitants of the fjords and channels were, from north to south, the Chono<\/a>, Alacalufe<\/a> and Yaghan<\/a>, 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<\/a> (Dolichocephalic<\/em>), and having a “low face”.[1]<\/sup> Despite similarities their languages were completely different.[2]<\/sup> The Chono moved around in the area from Chilo\u00e9 Archipelago<\/a> to 50\u00b0 S and the Alacalufe from 46\u00b0 S to the Strait of Magellan<\/a>. Thus both groups overlapped in Gulf of Penas<\/a>, Guayaneco Archipelago<\/a> and other islands.[2]<\/sup> Yaghans inhabited a reduced area south of Tierra del Fuego<\/a>.[2]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is often assumed that Chonos were the people who left behind most of the abundant Pre-Historic shell middens<\/a> (chonchales) of Chilo\u00e9 Archipelago<\/a>, yet this claim is unverified.[3]<\/sup> Guaitecas Archipelago<\/a> made up the southern limit of Pre-Hispanic agriculture[4]<\/sup> as noted by the mention of the cultivation of potatoes<\/a> by a Spanish expedition in 1557.[5]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Chonos and Alacalufes used Pilgerodendron uviferum<\/a><\/em> as firewood as well as wood for rows, boats and houses.[6]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colonial expeditions and decline of the Chono<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pedro de Valdivia<\/a> sought originally to conquer all of southern South America to the Straits of Magellan<\/a> (53\u00b0 S). He did however only reach Reloncav\u00ed Sound<\/a>(41\u00b045′ S). Later in 1567 Chilo\u00e9 Archipelago<\/a> (42\u00b030′ 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.[7]<\/sup> The harsh climate in the fjords and channels of Patagonia may also have deterred further expansion.[7]<\/sup>Indeed, even in Chilo\u00e9 did the Spanish encounter difficulties to adapt as their attempts to base the economy on gold extraction<\/a> and a “hispanic-mediterranean” agricultural model failed.[8]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During colonial times, the fjords and channels of Patagonia<\/a> were first explored by the Spaniards<\/a>. 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<\/a> called City of the Caesars<\/a>.[9]<\/sup> False rumors<\/a> of European settlements near the Straits of Magellan led the Spanish to organize the Antonio de Vea expedition<\/a> of 1675\u20131676, the largest expedition to the date.[10]<\/sup>[7]<\/sup> In 1792, the viceroy of Peru<\/a> ordered the exploration of the Patagonian channels in order to find an entrance to the interior of Patagonia.[9]<\/sup> The said order was carried of by Jos\u00e9 de Moraleda<\/a> who led an expedition that visited many of the main channels of the zone.[9]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.”[11]<\/sup> However, the islands were often visited and traversed in the 19th century by fishermen, lumberjacks<\/a>, and hunters from Chilo\u00e9.[11]<\/sup> This makes it clear that many areas that were traversed by explorers were already known to the inhabitants of southern Chilo\u00e9 who visited these areas for wood, fish or hunting.[12]<\/sup>[11]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.[7]<\/sup> All these buildings were abandoned after a few years.[7]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

19th century: Explorations and first settlements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chilean and European exploration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

See also: Puerto Americano<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early to mid 19th century, explorations by hydrographers like Robert FitzRoy<\/a> and Francisco Hudson<\/a> increased knowledge on the channels.[9]<\/sup>[13]<\/sup> With Hudson’s death in 1859 Francisco Vidal Gormaz<\/a> continued the explorations, a duty that Enrique Simpson<\/a> assumed in the 1870s.[14]<\/sup>[15]<\/sup> The channels south of the Isthmus of Ofqui<\/a> were explored in detail by Chilean government agent Hans Steffen<\/a> in the late 19th century.[14]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his explorations and charting in the second half of the 19th century Vidal Gormaz became critical of the work of Robert FitzRoy<\/a> and Charles Darwin<\/a> whom according to him had failed acknowledge the importance of the Patagonian islands.[11]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilgerodendron<\/em> boom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Felipe Westhoff<\/a>, a German-Lithuanian immigrant who operated a Pilgerodendron uviferum<\/a><\/em> logging business from Ancud<\/a>, founded Melinka<\/a> in Guaitecas Archipelago<\/a> in 1860.[16]<\/sup>[17]<\/sup> This was the first permanent settlement in the archipelago.[16]<\/sup> Chilean authorities granted Westhoff exclusive rights on Pilgerodendron<\/em> extraction in the archipelago and bestowed him the title of subdelegado mar\u00edtimo<\/a><\/em> 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.[16]<\/sup> After Westhoff’s retirement in the 1870s Ciriaco \u00c1lvarez<\/a> rose to prominence as the foremost Pilgerodendron<\/em> businessman.[17]<\/sup> The chief export products of \u00c1lvarez were poles<\/a> and vine training<\/a> stacks that went to northern Chile and Peru<\/a>.[18]<\/sup>[11]<\/sup>[19]<\/sup> \u00c1lvarez business owned him the nickname of “The King of Pilgerodendron” (Spanish<\/a>: El Rey del Cipr\u00e9s<\/em>)[17]<\/sup> and had great effects on the incipient economic development<\/a> that came to link the archipelagoes of Chilo\u00e9<\/a>, Guaitecas and Chonos<\/a>.[11]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate and geography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is very rare for the fjords to freeze in winter but when it happens it is usually in the inner parts of fjords whose surface waters are mainly freshwater.[20]<\/sup>[21]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navigating through the fjords and channels of Chile is mostly done by vessels desiring to avoid the heavy seas and bad weather so often experienced on passing into the Pacific Ocean<\/a> from the western end of the Strait of Magellan<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.[22]<\/sup> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Legal status of the waterways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All waters between the Chilean baselines<\/a> and the continental shoreline are internal waters<\/a>, according to the Chilean decree 416 of 14 June 1977 based in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/a>, 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<\/a> is the key difference between internal waters and territorial waters<\/a>. Chile allows the use of the main waterways under maritime authority dispositions for the following navigation lanes (all names in Spanish):[23]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a)<\/strong> throughout the Strait of Magellan<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Punta D\u00fangenes – Primera Angostura – Segunda Angostura, Paso Nuevo -Paso Ingl\u00e9s – Paso Tortuoso – Paso Largo – Paso del Mar – Cabo Pilar (and back).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b)<\/strong> from Cabo Tamar to isla San Pedro<\/strong> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabo Tamar – Canal Smyth – Canal Mayne or Canal Gray – Paso Victoria – Estrecho Collingwood – Paso Farquhar – Canal Sarmiento – Angostura Gu\u00edas – Canal Inocentes – Canal Concepci\u00f3n – 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 Concepci\u00f3n to inner channels (and back)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c)<\/strong> From Strait of Magellan to Puerto Natales or Puerto Bories<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from Isla Brinkley – Seno Uni\u00f3n – Canal Morla Vicu\u00f1a – Canal y angostura Kirke – Canal Vald\u00e9s, Golfo Almirante Montt – Canal Se\u00f1oret – Seno \u00daltima Esperanza – Puerto Natales – Puerto Bories (and back)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d)<\/strong> from Strait of Magellan to Puerto Williams<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from islote Anxious – Canal Magdalena – Canal Cockburn – Paso Brecknock or Canal Ocasi\u00f3n – Canal Uni\u00f3n – 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)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e)<\/strong> from Puerto Williams to Cabo de Hornos<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canal Beagle – Paso Picton – Paso Richmond – to Cabo de Hornos (and back)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

f)<\/strong> to the east Beagle Channel<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ships coming from east can access through the eastern mouth, northeast of Isla Nueva or through the Pasos Richmond and Picton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

g)<\/strong> to Seno Otway and Seno Skyring<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from Isla Carlos III – Canal Jer\u00f3nimo – Seno Otway – Canal Fitz-Roy – Seno Skyring to Bah\u00eda Mina Elena (and back).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h)<\/strong> to Isla Guarello<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from Isla Inocentes[24]<\/sup> – Canal Concepci\u00f3n – Canal Oeste – Seno Contreras – Bah\u00eda Corbeta Papudo in Isla Guarello, (and back), or from Bah\u00eda Corbeta Papudo in Isla Guarello – Seno Contreras – Paso Metalero (and back).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i)<\/strong> throughout Chonos Archipelago<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n