Beagle-channel

Beagle-channel

The Beagle Channel, a narrow strait in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago off the southern tip of South America. The east-west oriented channel is about 240 km long and 3-8 miles wide. It separates the main island of the archipelago in the north from Navarino, Hosté and other smaller islands in the south. At its western end, the channel splits into two branches that surround Gordon Island. The eastern part forms part of the Chile-Argentina border, while the western part lies entirely within Chile. The Beagle Channel is named after the British ship Beagle, which Charles Darwin used to explore the area. The Beagle Channel is an outstanding area for viewing rare, endemic dolphins. Wildlife observed in the Channel includes the South American Sea Lion, South American Fur Seal, Commerson's Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin, Peale's Dolphin, Dusky Dolphin, Spectacled Porpoise, Burmeister's Porpoise, Magellanic Penguin, Southern Rockhopper Penguin, Kelp Goose, Upland Goose, Crested Duck, Great Grebe, Magellanic Flightless Steamer Duck, Flying Steamerduck, Magellanic Diving-Petrel, the Common Diving-Petrel, Black-Faced Ibis, Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Imperial Shag, Rock Shag, Dolphin Gull, Kelp Gull, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-Chested Buzzard-Eagle, Andean Condor, Turkey Vulture, Crested Caracara, Chimango Caracara, White-Throated Caracara, Striated Caracara, Baird's Sandpiper, Magellanic Oystercatcher, Blackish Oystercatcher, Southern Lapwing, Rufous-Chested Plover , White-Rumped Sandpiper, Brown-Hooded Gull, South American Tern and Chilean Skua.