Sarmiento Channel
Encyclopedia
Sarmiento Channel is a principal Patagonia
channel
, which extends in a north-south direction. It is the southward continuation of the Angostura Guía and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The kawésqar people sailed its waters from around 6,000 years ago until end of 20th century, as they inhabited its coasts.
The channel is named after Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
, who was a Spanish explorer who navigated the region's waterways between 1579 and 1580.
This elongated water passage begins immediately south Angostura Guía at 50°47′00"S 74°25′00"W and terminates at the southern tip of Victoria Pass at 52°02′50"S 73°46′00"W, where it joins to Smyth Channel
. During the first 65 nautical mile
s, it runs in a general south-southeasterly direction, and is flanked by Chile
mainland on the east and the islands Esperanza, Vancouver and Piazzi on the west. Then it turns abruptly eastward for about 4 nmi, where the channel's name changes to Farquhar Pass. It then resumes its general SSE course, merging with Collingwood Strait for approximately 8 nmi and finishing at Victoria Pass, a 5 nmi long channel that joints it with Smyth Channel.
The islands that border the channel are mountainous with summits that reach 457 m. There is a chain of mountains in the middle of Esperanza Island with elevations between 300 and 1,067 m. To the east of Collingwood Strait, rises the Cordillera Sarmiento
, which is a heavily ice and snow covered mountain range
with majestic glacier
s descending to the sea. There are several bays on its coast, which can be used for anchorage of large ships.
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
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...
, which extends in a north-south direction. It is the southward continuation of the Angostura Guía and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The kawésqar people sailed its waters from around 6,000 years ago until end of 20th century, as they inhabited its coasts.
The channel is named after Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa was a Spanish explorer, author, historian, astronomer, and scientist. His birthplace is not certain and may have been Pontevedra, in Galicia, where his paternal family originated or Alcalá de Henares in Castile, where he later is known to have studied...
, who was a Spanish explorer who navigated the region's waterways between 1579 and 1580.
This elongated water passage begins immediately south Angostura Guía at 50°47′00"S 74°25′00"W and terminates at the southern tip of Victoria Pass at 52°02′50"S 73°46′00"W, where it joins to Smyth Channel
Smyth Channel
Smyth Channel is a principal Patagonia channel. Its south arm is the southward continuation of the Sarmiento Channel and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region...
. During the first 65 nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s, it runs in a general south-southeasterly direction, and is flanked by 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...
mainland on the east and the islands Esperanza, Vancouver and Piazzi on the west. Then it turns abruptly eastward for about 4 nmi, where the channel's name changes to Farquhar Pass. It then resumes its general SSE course, merging with Collingwood Strait for approximately 8 nmi and finishing at Victoria Pass, a 5 nmi long channel that joints it with Smyth Channel.
The islands that border the channel are mountainous with summits that reach 457 m. There is a chain of mountains in the middle of Esperanza Island with elevations between 300 and 1,067 m. To the east of Collingwood Strait, rises the Cordillera Sarmiento
Cordillera Sarmiento
The Cordillera Sarmiento is a mountain rangelocated in the Chilean Patagonia to the west of Puerto Natales. It extends in north-south direction on the western shore of the Fjord of the Mountains and parallel to the Cordillera Riesco. The highest mountain in this range is La Dama Blanca , with an...
, which is a heavily ice and snow covered mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
with majestic glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s descending to the sea. There are several bays on its coast, which can be used for anchorage of large ships.