The narrow Strait of Magellan is protected by the islands of the archipelago, therefore it is much safer than the Drake Passage in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bformidable cape, which sailors dubbed Cape Storms, Cape Devil and "the old cannibal". But they were also proud of the successful passage of a dangerous place no less than climbers - climbing.
Before the Panama Canal was officially opened in 1920, the Straits of Magellan, the Beagle and the Drake Passage were the main sea routes for returning to England from the Pacific coast of America, from the Pacific Islands, from Australia and New Zealand. As a rule, ships of regular flights moved within the "roaring forties" degrees of south latitude in the direction from west to east, taking advantage of the stable and strong Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Winds). Now, near the “devilish” Cape Horn, where westerly winds blow at speeds of up to 35 m/s, waves are up to 15 m, and powerful storms occur at least once a week in summer, twice a week in spring, and practically do not stop in winter, regular there are no flights. But in the era of geographical discoveries, sailing ships usually sailed along it, venturing around South America from the Atlantic side. Theoretically, the labyrinths of the Straits of Magellan and the Beagle are safer than the Drake Passage and shorten the path, but they are more suitable for steamers, and for sailboats when moving against the wind to the west, they have little room for tacking downwind. In addition, in winter, these narrow straits often turned out to be ice-bound, and then the ships had no choice but to go through the open for hundreds of kilometers (not counting the small islands of Diego Ramirez, 100 km from Horn Island) and the Drake Strait, which never completely freezes, despite fogs, rains, strong winds and the constant danger of storms and iceberg collisions.
The Drake Strait is named after the "pirate Elizabeth" - an English privateer, later Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Drake, who rounded Cape Horn in 1578 during his round-the-world trip. In fact, it was a pirate raid on the Spanish colonies of the Pacific coast. In pursuit of gold, silver, precious stones, spices and slaves, truly great geographical discoveries were made. At the same time, sailors sought to conquer the oceans exactly where the greatest benefit was expected - closer to the tropics. "Useless" lands were discovered by accident, usually due to deviations from the route in a storm, and they were immediately forgotten about. So the Drake Passage, most likely, was the first to “discover” half a century before Drake, the Spanish captain Francisco Oses in 1526 (the records note that “the team thought they were seeing the end of the world,” that is, open sea space. This discovery then they did not attach much importance, nevertheless, in Spanish and Latin American cartography, it is customary to designate the Drake Passage as the Sea of ​​Oses.
Acquaintance with the Drake Passage happened in the literal sense "spontaneously" - by the will of the elements. Official discoverer of the strait, sir Francis Drake(like the Spaniard Francisco Oses), planned to pass through the Strait of Magellan known to him - and passed, but at the exit the storm scattered his ships. Only the flagship "Pelican" was able to break through to the Pacific Ocean (the second ship died, the third returned to England). The ship drifted far to the south, and there, behind a nameless basalt cliff, the endless expanses of the ocean opened up. "Pelican" to celebrate was renamed the "Golden Doe". She returned from robbery and looting on the Pacific coast, loaded with gold and spices.
The boundary between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the Drake Passage is usually drawn along a conditional line from about. Horn of Tierra del Fuego to about. Snowy (Snow Island, historical name Maly Yaroslavets) of the South Shetland Islands. The total width of the strait is from 820 to 1200 km. Although it is the widest strait in the world, it is also the narrowest point in the Southern Ocean. Since 1993, the community of oceanologists has been conducting constant observations and measurements in the Drake Passage, since this "bar" between the two oceans is the most convenient place to study the hydrology of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
Strong westerly winds prevailing between 40 and 55° S. sh., are called "roaring forties". Reaching South America, they rest against the wall of the Andes - and the only loophole for them is the Drake Passage. It turns out a giant "draft", complicated by cyclones descending from the Andes and headwinds.
The westerly winds generate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, known as the West Wind Current, a giant "river" of sorts that encircles Antarctica. At these latitudes, nowhere are there significant land areas that would interfere with a powerful current that exceeds the Amazon in terms of water consumption by about 600 times. The current speed reaches 2 km/h. The islands of the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego narrow the channel of the "river", forming a kind of rapids: if over the depths the current is predominantly superficial, then in the area of ​​the islands above the continental shallows, the waters mix almost to the very bottom.
The first passage through the Drake Strait recorded in travel notes and on maps was made by the Dutch in 1616. Then they named the southern tip of the archipelago Cape Horn in honor of hometown Captain Willem Schuten. Another Dutchman, Billem Janszoon, by that time managed to discover Australia in 1606. It is noteworthy that before the discovery wide strait Drake south of America and before the mapping of the southern coastline of Australia, people were convinced that both South America and Australia were parts of the vast unknown Southern continent (Terra Australis). Accurate information about the outlines of Antarctica and confirmation that this is a separate continent, the world received only as a result of the Russian expedition of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev who went around it in 1820. And the first researchers about. Horn and other inhospitable islands and straits of the Chilean Antarctic became in 1831 the British from the Beagle ship, which made its five-year trip around the world. Among them was the young naturalist Charles Darwin, who went on a boat through the most inaccessible places and described the Fireland Indian tribe of Yagans (to date, there are no purebred Yagans left).
Despite the fact that the idea of ​​the initial period of the Great geographical discoveries about the existence of the supercontinent Terra Australis, of course, does not correspond to reality, but once it was exactly so. Research chemical composition fossil bones of ancient fish confirmed that the strait opened about 41 million years ago. Before southern mainland completely separated the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In those prehistoric times, Antarctica did not have an ice cap, as the climate was much warmer.
In the historical era, very cold; The Drake Passage on the Antarctic side is covered with ice for eight months (from April to November) for a quarter of its width, and the drift ice boundary reaches the southern tip of the Chilean Antarctic. The climate is unsuitable for permanent residence of people on the islands, but animal world exceptionally rich and diverse: marine fauna is represented by a large number of mussels, balanus, octopuses, crabs and shrimps; from the ships you can watch dolphins and whales; on the islands and coast - numerous colonies of penguins, albatrosses, giant and other petrels and other sea birds.

general information

The world's widest strait connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (often referred to as the Southern Ocean).

Location: between Cape Horn of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica).

Washes countries: Argentina, Chile (Antarctica does not belong to any state).
Islands: about. Horn, Diego Ramirez Islands, Fr. Snezhny (Snow Island), about. Livingston et al.

Currents: A powerful Antarctic circumpolar current passes through the strait - the current of the West Winds. The main direction of the current is north.

Freeze: in the southern part, up to 25% of the strait is covered with ice from April to November.

The border of drifting ice reaches South America.

Numbers

Length: 460 km.
Width: from 820 to 1120 km (the widest in the world).
Depth: up to 5249 m.

Salinity: 34% o.
Average current speed: 1-2 km/h, at a depth of up to 0.4 km/h.

The main direction is northeast.

Climate and weather

Subantarctic.

Cold winters and cool summers.

From April to November in the southern part of the strait, the air temperature is below zero.

The climate is windy and rainy.

Icebergs.

Average annual water temperature in the north: from +12 to +15°С.

The average annual water temperature in the south: from +1 to +2°С.

Average air temperature from December to April: from +14°С in the north to +1.5°С in the south.

Average air temperature from April to December: from +7°С in the north to -5°С in the south.

Average annual rainfall: 1000-1500 mm.

Economy

Industry and Agriculture absent on subantarctic islands; there are scientific stations and nature reserves.

There are no regular flights.

Attractions

■ Natural: fogs and rainbows, as well as the strongest winds and the strongest storms in the Cape Horn area; icebergs; seabird colonies (since 2005, Cape Horn has been an ecological reserve); whales and dolphins.
■ Cultural and historical: at Cape Horn: a legendary lighthouse maintained by a Chilean family; a wooden Orthodox worship cross in memory of the lost ships, installed by the Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov in 2010.

Curious facts

■ In past centuries, sailors rounding Cape Horn were entitled to wear a gold earring in their left ear. Today, passing through Cape Horn, covered with terrible legends, is the dream of any extreme yachtsman; for them it is akin to a climber's dream of conquering an impregnable peak. So, recently the Kosinsky Marine Club reported on the passage through the Drake Strait near Cape Horn on a collapsible sailing catamaran "Narwhal", as part of a sea voyage to the islands of Tierra del Fuego in January 2012 - February 2013.
■ There is evidence that Drake planned to go around from the north North America and thus make another great geographical discovery; "Golden Doe" reached approximately the latitude of Canadian Vancouver, but, seeing that coastline turns not to the east, but to the west, the navigator decided not to risk it and sailed across the ocean, carefully avoiding the Spanish and Portuguese colonial possessions and ships.
■ After the Drake pirate raid, the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attempt to fortify the Strait of Magellan in 1584, and this is a tragic page in local history. Almost all the colonists of the settlements of the City of Jesus and the City of Philip, then founded on the northern coast of the strait, died of starvation and disease. They were unable to grow and harvest any crops on the subantarctic islands, and the mother country, busy preparing the war with England, forgot about them. In 1587, the "follower" of Drake, privateer Thomas Cavendish, who discovered the ruins of the City of Jesus, renamed this place Puerto Ambre - "the port of hunger." Only in the 19th century the Chileans were able to establish on the Brunswick Peninsula the southernmost city of the Earth - Punta Arenas; there is no settlement on Cape Horn, but the legendary lighthouse works, and with it there are several servants.
■ Strictly speaking, none of the first round-the-world trips initially set itself the task of circumnavigating the globe. So, the purpose of the Spanish expedition of Magellan in 1519-1522. there was a trade: to find a western route to the Spice Islands through the strait, the existence of which the captain learned from the astrologer Ruy Faller, and return back the same way. Having opened the Strait of Magellan and going west across the Pacific Ocean for spices, Magellan did not even imagine how huge it was and that the expedition would end tragically for him ... Well, the English circumnavigation of the English Francis Drake in 1577-1580. and Thomas Cavendish in 1586-1588. were pirate raids; accordingly, their goal was the robbery of Spanish ships and rich colonies of the Pacific coast; both marauders did not dare to go back, rightly fearing a meeting with the Spanish squadron.
■ The general scheme of interoceanic circulation in the 1980s. proposed by the American oceanologist Wallace Broker. He called it the global ocean conveyor. From the southern tip of Greenland, cold and salty deep water with the Western Boundary Current moves south, where it is picked up by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which runs along Antarctica, and transported to the Pacific Ocean. This path of 40,000 km deep water takes about 1000 years.

17.02.2014

Today, the widest strait in the world is considered such a body of water as the Drake Passage. This fact is by no means surprising, because its width is about 1200 kilometers at its widest point, more precisely between the South Shetland Islands and the archipelago called Tierra del Fuego. The Drake Passage is often referred to as the link between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The main direction of the powerful current is south. The northern current maintains a very low temperature throughout the year.

In summer, the water warms up to only 6 degrees, and the winter level does not rise above 3. Salt for such a stream is not something unique. The salinity level is 34 ppm. Due to the low temperature of the current in winter, ice, which binds the waters, can occupy a quarter of the entire territory of the strait. In summer, in the process of its melting, a large number of icebergs appear. Despite its small length, only 460 kilometers, its depth in some places reaches 5 thousand meters. Due to the impressive current speed - 0.4 meters per second, storms often occur and the weather changes.

This water body received its sonorous name in honor of the famous English navigator, and also a pirate, Francis Drake. The opening of the strait took place in 1578, when the pirate made another expedition for the riches of other continents. The events that happened to him during this trip can be equated with the well-known phrase "pan or go". At times, getting into a storm, many crew members no longer hoped to survive, but in the end, almost all returned rich and received great fame and gratitude from the queen.

An interesting fact is the fate of the ship on which Drake made the discovery of the strait. Initially, this ship was called "Pelican". But, in gratitude for resisting the storm when passing through the Strait of Magellan, Drake decided to rename the ship the Golden Doe. The reason for this was the enormous loss of the fleet. Of the six ships, only the Pelican was able to break into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Francis Drake's court patron was Christopher Hutton, whose coat of arms was the golden doe, which inspired the choice of a new name for the hero ship.

Undoubtedly, the Drake Strait is the widest, because even the strait, which is in the second largest place, is almost twice as narrow. The width of the Mozambique Channel is only 422 kilometers. It is also worth noting that in the entire list of the 5 widest water straits, this is the biggest difference in performance, which indicates the undeniable superiority of the eminent Drake Passage, which everyone remembers from history as a famous corsair and just a navigator who pursued the most inhumane goals.

Bosphorus

"I have never been to the Bosporus ...". Many probably remember these lines from S. Yesenin's poem. If you have not been either, we will try to briefly talk about the narrowest strait between the continents. This strait connects the Black and Marmara Seas and is part of the border between Europe and Asia. It got its name from the ancient Greeks, who called it "Cow Ford".

Despite its small length, the strait is very inconvenient for navigation. Throughout its 30 km length, it has about twelve sharp turns, which forces ships to change their course. And Kanlik's turn is located so that oncoming ships do not see each other.

Strait width

In addition, there are powerful and fast currents and whirlpools in the strait. The minimum width of the strait is 700 m, the maximum is 3700 m, the depth of the navigable part is from 33 to 80 m. Considering that the strait is the only water artery connecting the countries of the Black Sea basin with the countries of the Mediterranean, the intensity of navigation is very high. Up to 45,000 ships pass through the Bosphorus a year.

On both banks of the Bosphorus is the city of Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople. This is probably the only city in the world that is located on two continents. Therefore, for the transport connection of the Asian and European parts cities, ferries have long been used. And now about 1,500 ferries run daily, carrying an average of up to 1.5 million people.

Bridges over the Bosphorus

To meet the growing demand for connecting both parts of the city, and to unload the strait from ferries, two bridges were built. The first was put into operation in 1973 and is called the "Bosphorus Bridge" with a length of 1074 meters. The second, built in 1988 and called the "Bridge of Sultan Mehmed Fatih", its length is 1090 meters. The Turkish government plans to build another road bridge from the Black Sea, the length of which will be 1275 meters.

However, it is worth noting that the Bosphorus Strait is the narrowest between the continents, and also the shortest strait on Earth.

Strait of the Little Belt

by the very Small Belt is recognized as the narrowest strait on Earth. This strait is located between the islands of Funen and Ærö in the east and the island of Als and the Jutland peninsula in the west. Connects the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat.

The length of the Small Belt is 50 kilometers, the width varies from 500 meters to 28 kilometers, and the smallest depth in the fairway is 12 meters and the maximum is 75 meters.

Dofuti Strait

In addition to the Small Belt, for the right to be called the narrowest strait on Earth, competes Dofuti Strait separating the Japanese islands of Sodo and Mae. This strait is considered the narrowest of all the navigable straits of the Earth. Indeed, in the place where the two islands are connected by a bridge, the width of the strait is only 9.93 m.

The widest strait in the world is the Drake Passage. It connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
General information. The Drake Passage is located between the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the north and the South Shetland Islands in the south. The width of the strait at its narrowest point is about 820 kilometers, while at its widest part it is up to 950 kilometers. The depth of the strait reaches the level of 5249 meters. The southernmost point of the continent of South America, namely the famous Cape Horn is located in the strait. The current speed in the northern section of the strait reaches 4 meters per second.
Weather. The Drake Passage has long been famous for severe, adverse weather conditions. Strong storms are frequent here, with very high wind speeds (up to 35 meters per second) and high waves. The temperature of the water, even summer time practically does not rise above 6°C. In winter, a significant part of the strait is covered with floating ice, while in summer icebergs are often found in the strait. Due to extremely difficult weather conditions, Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered that all sailors who passed the Drake Strait be awarded a copper earring and granted the right to visit all pubs and restaurants in the world for free.
Discovery history. The strait is named after the famous navigator and pirate Francis Drake. It is curious that Drake is not the discoverer of the strait. Back in 1526, the strait was discovered by the Spanish captain Francisco Oses. However, at that time this discovery remained unnoticed. Only 52 years later, in 1578, Francis Drake passed through the strait during his circumnavigation of 1577-1580. It is known that Drake's plans included going to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic through the Strait of Magellan. A powerful storm prevented the implementation of the plans of the famous pirate. Drake's ship, the Golden Doe, was swept south and entered the strait, which later received the name of the captain. Thus, thanks to an accidental combination of circumstances, the most important geographical discovery was made, and the path for new travels was also paved.

Photo of the widest strait in the world



The Drake Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its width is almost 900 km. The site is considered quite dangerous, so ships try to bypass it. However, yachtsmen who were able to pass it are respected.

It was accidentally discovered by the explorer and pirate Francis Drake in 1578, during a trip around the world. However, there is an opinion that Osese was the first to pass this route in 1526.

One of the famous and mysterious straits is located between Antarctica and South America. It runs between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The southern border ends with Graham's Land, and the northern one with Tierra del Fuego.

During a round-the-world trip, navigators always go around Cape Horn. Only in this way you can not swim in the strait.

The narrowest Drake Passage on earth. Photo map of the world

The Drake Passage is the widest in the world, at its narrowest point it is 820 km. Due to its size, many scientists consider it part of the ocean, and not a strait. Storms are constantly raging here, so only large ships can safely pass it.

Strait on the world map:



Physical map of the hemisphere. South America




Oceans map




Why is the strait attractive?

A feature of the strait is that it connects the two largest oceans. Therefore, heavy winds rage here, whose speed is at least 35 m / s. The wave height can reach 15 m. The average depth is 4 km.

The flow of water circulating in the strait passes absolutely through all the meridians of the planet. This is a powerful current, thanks to which there is almost never a calm in the strait.

Since the strait is in close proximity to Antarctica, icebergs are not uncommon. The average water range is -2-+12 degrees. Despite the harsh climate, the water here never freezes.

On the washing shores of South America and Antarctica live different kinds penguins and seals. You can also often meet petrels, skuas, albatrosses. The strait is often crossed by blue whales.

Navigators note that very thick fogs and beautiful rainbows can be observed in the strait. A large number of shrimps, crabs and octopuses live in the water.

Some people claim that tourists who have crossed the strait and also rounded Cape Horn receive a special certificate.