Baker Channel, also known as Calen Inlet, is a channel

Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

 of Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 located in the Aisén Region. The Baker River

Baker River (Chile)

The Baker River is a river located in the Aisén Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It is Chile's largest river in terms of volume of water. The river flows out of Bertrand Lake, which is fed by General Carrera Lake. It runs along the east side of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field and empties into the...

 discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of this large estuary. It penetrates the mainland about 75 mi and opens into Tarn Bay at the south-east corner of the Gulf of Penas

Gulf of Penas

The Gulf of Penas is a body of water located south of Taitao Peninsula, Chile. It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the Gulfs of Tres Montes and San Esteban, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier...

. Merino Jarpa Island

Merino Jarpa Island

Merino Jarpa Island is an island in the Baker Channel in Aisén region, Chile. It has an area of 430 km2....

 lies wholly within this great estuary, while at its mouth lies a group of smaller islands, called Baker Islands, which separate it from Messier Channel

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. This channel is named after Charles Messier, who was a French astronomer. It is a fjord in the...

. Baker Channel also receives the waters of the O'Higgins/San Martín Lake

O'Higgins/San Martín Lake

The lake known as O'Higgins in Chile and San Martín in Argentina is located around coordinates in Patagonia, between the Aysén Region and the Santa Cruz Province....

 through the Pascua River

Pascua River

The Pascua River is a river located in the Aisén 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 Lake, its source....

. The lake's far-reaching fjord-like arms extend approximately from lat. 49° 11' to 48° 22' S. Its north-west arm is that which drains into the mentioned river.

The calving front of Jorge Montt Glacier

Jorge Montt Glacier

Jorge Montt Glacier is a tidewater glacier located in the Aisén Region of Chile, south of the town of Caleta Tortel. It lies at the north end of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, within Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. The mouth of Pascua River is located in the vicinity of the glacier calving...

, which is the northern glacier of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field

Southern Patagonian Ice Field

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field , located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile, is the second largest contiguous extrapolar extent of ice in the world...

, reaches the Baker Channel. A number of icebergs can be seen in this area.

The channel marks the northern border of the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, covering an area of in both the Aisén and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena regions. The park is named after General Bernardo O'Higgins, first head of state of the Republic of Chile...

, and is home to the Katalalixar National Reserve

Katalalixar National Reserve

Katalalixar National Reserve is a natural reserve located in an archipelago between Southern Patagonian Ice Field, and Northern Patagonian Ice Field in Aisén Region of Chile. The reserve was created in 1983 and has no infrastructure. It covers an area of within the Magellanic subpolar forests...

 on Merino Jarpa Island.

See also

• Caleta Tortel
• Guayaneco Archipelago
  Guayaneco Archipelago
  The Guayaneco Archipelago is an archipelago in southern Chile . It was heavily glaciated during the most recent ice age. These glaciers dissected these mountain islands into a series of deep river valleys and glacial troughs. Today these glacial troughs are deep channels and fjords...
  
  
• Northern Patagonian Ice Field
  Northern Patagonian Ice Field
  The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of lower South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries of Laguna San Rafael National Park...