<P> Until the Panama Canal opened in 1914, the Strait of Magellan was the main route for steamships traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific . It was often considered the only safe way to move between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as the Drake Passage separating Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America) from Antarctica is notorious for turbulent and unpredictable weather, and is frequented by icebergs and sea ice . Ships in the strait, protected by Tierra del Fuego to the south and the coast of continental South America to the north crossed with relative ease, and Punta Arenas became a primary refueling port providing coal for steam ships in transit . Sailing ships, however, partly because of variable winds and currents in the strait, generally preferred the Drake Passage, as they had more room to maneuver there . </P> <P> The strait is approximately 570 kilometres (310 nmi; 350 mi) long and about 2 kilometres (1.1 nmi; 1.2 mi) wide at its narrowest point (Carlos III Island, west of Cape Froward). The northwestern portion of the strait is connected with other sheltered waterways via the Smyth Channel . This area is similar to the Inside Passage of Alaska . South of Cape Froward, the principal shipping route follows the Magdalena Channel . </P> <P> The eastern opening is a wide bay on the border of Chile and Argentina between Punta Dúngeness on the mainland and Cabo del Espíritu Santo (Cape of the Holy Spirit) on Tierra del Fuego, the border as defined in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina . Immediately west are Primera Angostura and Segunda Angostura, narrows formed by two terminal moraines of different ages . The Primera Angostura is the closest approach of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego to the mainland of South America . Farther west lies Magdalena Island, part of Los Pingüinos Natural Monument . The strait's southern boundary in the east follows first the shoreline of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, then the northern end of the Canal Whiteside and the shoreline of Dawson Island . </P> <P> The western part of the strait leads northwest from the northern end of the Magdalena Channel to the strait's Pacific entrance . This portion of the strait is flanked on the south by Capitán Aracena Island, Clarence Island, Santa Inés Island, Desolación Island (Cabo Pilar) and other smaller islands, and on the north by Brunswick Peninsula, Riesco Island, Muñoz Gamero Peninsula, Manuel Rodriguez Island and other minor islands of the Queen Adelaide Archipelago . Two narrow channels connect the strait with Seno Otway and Seno Skyring . A broader channel, Smyth Channel, leads north from the strait between Muñoz Gamero Peninsula and Manuel Rodriguez Island . Francisco Coloane Coastal and Marine Protected Area, a sanctuary for humpback whales, is located in this area . This part of the strait lies on the elongated Magallanes - Fagnano Fault, which marks a plate boundary between the South American Plate and the Scotia Plate . This fault continues southward under Almirantazgo Fjord and then below Fagnano Lake . Possibly, new tourism industries could be established in the eastern part of the strait for watching southern right whales, as the number of observations in the area has increased in recent years . </P>

Where is the strait of magellan located on a map