A labyrinth of islands and drifting ice where channels open without warning and close again just as fast. The myth of the northwest passage is part of the northern romance of the conflict between men and nature. The map at the top of this page shows possible routes through the northwest passage. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, european explorers, particularly the british, made numerous attempts to discover such a route north and west, through by river or around by sea north america. Earliest crossing of the northwest passage ever the atlantic. The northwest passage abbreviated as nwp is, from the european and northern atlantic point of view, the sea route to the pacific ocean through the arctic ocean, along the northern coast of north america via waterways through the canadian arctic archipelago. The name probably originated with ania, a chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of marco polos book.
Find books like northwest passage from the worlds largest community of readers. Peel sound was the franklin expeditions route south. The eastern route along the arctic coasts of norway and siberia is accordingly called the northeast passage nep the various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from the canadian. Join us on an expedition to the northernmost parts of the world on a northwest passage cruise. Goodreads members who liked northwest passage also liked.
Samuel bawlfs account of the secret voyage sir francis drake undertook from 1577 in order to disprove the theoretical strait of anian as predicted by the flemish geographer, abraham ortelius that provided a northern passage linking the atlantic and pacific oceans is a remarkable account of exploration by one of englands most revered heroes. A fabled strait of anian across north america had been rumoured since the. Northwest passage wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Details a chronological history of voyages into the. Strait of anian, part of the legendary northwest passage linking the atlantic and pacific oceans, likely bering strait. List of books and articles about northwest passage online. Where did the spanish believe the strait of anian was located.
While it was obviously never foundas no such strait existsthe search for it led to the exploration of the pacific coast from california to the bering strait. It is named after arctic explorer william edward parry, who got as far as melville island in 1819 before being blocked by ice at mcclure strait. Revisiting an explorers northwest passage disappointment after nearly 230 years. Canada considers the northwest passage to be canadian internal waters, but the us and some european countries say the passage is an international strait. List of books and articles about northwest passage. Northwest passage was one of my favorites as a teen, but i hadnt give it a thought in more than twoscore. Strait of anian, part of the legendary northwest passage linking the. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The anian strait remained on maps for several centuries, albeit in different locations, as the western end of a northwest passage. The bering strait crossing a 21st century frontier. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Ania, a chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of marco polos book. The northwest passage is a sea route connecting the northern atlantic and pacific oceans through the arctic ocean, along the northern coast of north america via waterways through the canadian arctic archipelago. The elusive dream of locating the northwest passagean ocean route.
The true strait was discovered in 1728 and became known as the bering strait. The strait that never was before there was a northwest passage there was the strait of anian or was there. Northwest passage is a 12 x 9 hardcover childrens book that is illustrated by matt james. The straits of anian, 15421792 1999, sums up perfectly the. Into the northwest passage frontiers north adventures. It is theoretically possible to sail a ship from the atlantic to the pacific via the northwest passage. Jul 31, 2017 the finnish icebreaker msv nordica just set a new record, sailing through the northwest passage above north america earlier than ever before. In the past, the northwest passage has been virtually impassable because it was covered by thick, yearround sea ice. The northwest passage opened again on august 25, 2008. Baffin bay between greenland and baffin island to lancaster sound at the north end of baffin island, or west of baffin island impractical. The obvious route through the northwest passage, parry channel seldom provides a full transit because of ice. James drew his inspiration for his book from the song northwest passage, written. The strait of anian was an imaginative strait, separating the continents of asia and north america and sometimes providing access to a northwest passage from eastern canada to the pacific ocean. His backers expected him to sail through the strait of magellan into the pacific and seek the northwest passage, the allwater route connecting the two great oceans, a lodestone that lured mariners and trademinded politicians for more than four centuries.
King arthur and the northern enchantment clas merdin. Bering strait project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the atlantic ocean to the pacific ocean through the arctic archipelago of what became canada. Northwest passage encyclopedia article citizendium. The northwest passage is a sea route through the arctic ocean, along the northern coast of north america via waterways amidst the canadian arctic archipelago, connecting the atlantic and pacific oceans.
Jan 01, 2001 this first half of the book is easily the most interesting, rich in fairly accurate detail about rogers leadership and the audacious heroism of his rangers. The straits of anian, 15421792 1999, sums up perfectly the situation facing explorers and cartographers regarding the northwest passage during the eighteenth century. Brookehitching fox tossing arranges his subjects alphabetically and begins with the strait of anian, a misconceived western terminus to the northwest passage from the 14th century, and. The strait of anian was eventually recognized to be a myth, but the real northwest passage, a daunting route through the canadian arctic archipelago, still beckoned. Northwest passage trade route, north america britannica. Sophus ruge 62 to point out the passage in marco polo from which the story of the strait of anian is apparently derived. Feb 18, 2020 the name comes from a chinese province noted by marco polo in his travels. Aug 31, 2017 through the northwest passage august 31, 2017 ron thompson leave a comment apol has this week completed a solo transit of the northwest passage, becoming the first book in recorded history to complete the voyage aloneor so it announced at a bookstore in kugluktuk. This passage, sometimes referred to as the strait of anian, was a waterway that supposedly connected the pacific ocean to the atlantic. Valerianos boasted of his sailing adventures aboard spanish ships in search of the strait of anian, better known as the northwest passage or river of the west.
It was another twenty years before search began for the northwest passage. Book is complete, and all maps and plates are present. There was great hope that the newly found frobishers strait would turn out to be the mythical strait of anian, thought to provide a quicker way to the riches of cathay and a safe route for england to build its empire away from the spanish and portuguese spheres of influence. In todays terms, the pacific northwest includes the canadian province of british columbia and the yukon territory, the american state of alaska, and the. James drew his inspiration for his book from the song northwest passage, written by canadian singer stan rogers. On august 21, 2007, the northwest passage became open to ships without the need of an icebreaker. The northwest passage is the sea route from the north atlantic ocean through canadas arctic islands into the arctic ocean and then south into the north pacific ocean through the bering strait between alaska and russia. Pacific destiny is the spur awardwinning story for best historical nonfiction, told by a distinguished chronicler of nineteenth century america.
The second half of the book follows major rogers further career in england and on the northwest frontier. Three the strait of anian and other northwest passages. Origin of the strait of anian concept the origin of the supposed existence of the strait of anian is one of the great geographical problems of the sixteenth century. The eastern route along the arctic coasts of norway and siberia is accordingly called northeast passage nep. This first half of the book is easily the most interesting, rich in fairly accurate detail about rogers leadership and the audacious heroism of his rangers. The adventures and discoveries of parry and franklin northwest passage early attempt on the north pole. Just before robert hookes rightly famous microscopic observations of everything from the edges of rasors to vine mites appeared in micrographia in 1665, the insatiably curious and incredibly prolific jesuit scholar athanasius kircher see here published what is in many ways a more spectacular work. The title of a recent book, fakes, frauds, and fabricators. The strait probably took its name from ania, a chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of marco polos book.
Through hudson strait south of baffin island, north through the foxe basin, west through the fury and hecla strait, north to lancaster sound through the gulf of boothia and. The finnish icebreaker msv nordica just set a new record, sailing through the northwest passage above north america earlier than ever before. According to nalan koc of the norwegian polar institute, this was the first time the passage has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972. The name comes from a chinese province noted by marco polo in his travels. The strait of anian was a semimythical strait, documented from around 1560, that was believed by early modern cartographers to mark the boundary between north america and asia and to permit access to a northwest passage from the arctic ocean to the pacific. In these maps, the strait joins up with other waterways that stretch across north america, creating the mythical northwest passage. The passage is omitted in most of the editions of marco polo. Northwest passage, historical sea passage of the north american continent. According to nalan koc of the norwegian polar institute, this is the first time the passage has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search.
The northwest passage is a sea route that connects the atlantic and pacific oceans through the canadian arctic archipelago. The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from the canadian mainland by a series of arctic waterways collectively known as the northwest passages or. The legend of the northwest passage particularly enthralled europeans. Indians and europeans on the northwest coast, 17741812. Lok and valerianos, both down on their luck, were seeking money and new opportunities. The passage wasnt a commercially viable shipping route due to the sea ice, so only a handful of ships traversed the entire northwest passage. The passage wasnt a commercially viable shipping route due to the sea ice, so only a handful of ships traversed the entire northwest passage in the decades following amundsens 1906 crossing. Sep 05, 20 the northwest passage is the sea route from the north atlantic ocean through canadas arctic islands into the arctic ocean and then south into the north pacific ocean through the bering strait between alaska and russia. The northwest passage as a voyage to myth and adventure. It turned out he was an indian aficionado, too, with the french and indian war 17541763 being one of his specialties. Which was not a result of the baby boom that followed world war ii answers apex. Through the northwest passage ron thompson, author. There is, however, little doubt that the name anian, which soon became common for the new strait, was originally borrowed from polo, and that the region in which it was intended to locate this nebulous passage was that described in chapter 5, book 3 of his travels.
It was the basis for the 1940 movie northwest passage, starring spencer tracy. Factualized fiction, imaginatively visualized, had many gullible victims, even benjamin franklin. Irish northwest passage expedition a team of leading irish sailors and explorers retrace the famous northwest passage from the atlantic to the pacific ocean. The quest for the passage was one of the worlds severest maritime. The importance of the statements from oviedo is based upon the fact that we know that oviedo 55 was. Ty book ti a chronological history of voyages into the arctic regions. Apr 24, 2003 valerianos boasted of his sailing adventures aboard spanish ships in search of the strait of anian, better known as the northwest passage or river of the west. With its appearance on subsequent maps, the strait of anian, or northwest passage, soon became a sought after goal of many explorers. Climate change a commercially navigable northwest passage would cut 7,000 kilometres from the current shipping route between the north atlantic and pacific via the panama canal. Exploration in the pacific northwest before the american. Through the northwest passage august 31, 2017 ron thompson leave a comment apol has this week completed a solo transit of the northwest passage, becoming the first book in recorded history to complete the voyage aloneor so it announced at a bookstore in kugluktuk. This passage, sometimes referred to as the strait of anian, was a waterway that supposedly connected the pacific ocean to. Mar, 2018 revisiting an explorers northwest passage disappointment after nearly 230 years. Incidentally, the spanish called the passage the strait of anian.
Mar 04, 2015 strait of anian, part of the legendary northwest passage linking the atlantic and pacific oceans, likely bering strait. The northwest passage, however, remained the most important goal, and the search for the passage continued even though at that time such a route had no commercial value. Many expeditions recorded possible entrances to the northwest passage, which, on closer investigation, turned out to be river deltas, straits between islands, or the mouths of inlets. Discover librarianselected research resources on northwest passage from the questia online. Exploration, however, was incidental to drakes work as a privateer, a pirate with. Where did the spanish believe the strait of anian was. Proof of the existence of the passage in the mid1800s only revealed how difficult its transit would be, and it was not until the early 20th cent. Revisiting an explorers northwest passage disappointment. The northwest passage is a longsought water route connecting the atlantic and pacific oceans north of the north american mainland. King arthur and the northern enchantment deep within the arctic circle lies the fabled northwest passage, the most dangerous place on earth to navigate a ship. Northwest passage wikimili, the best wikipedia reader.