The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via the waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as just the Arctic Archipelago, is an Archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions ^[1][2] The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and the Canadian mainland by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages or Northwestern Passages. An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ^[3]

Sought by explorers for centuries as a possible trade route, it was first navigated by Roald Amundsen in 1903–1906. Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən ( July 16, 1872 – c The Arctic pack ice prevents regular marine shipping throughout the year, but climate change is reducing the pack ice, and this Arctic shrinkage may eventually make the waterways more navigable. Polar ice packs are large areas of Pack ice formed from Seawater in the Earth 's Polar regions known as Polar ice caps the Arctic Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences Arctic shrinkage is the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the observed melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent years This and the contested sovereignty claims over the waters may complicate future shipping through the region. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself The Canadian government considers the Northwestern Passages part of Canadian Internal Waters,^[4] but various countries maintain they are an international strait or transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage. The Canadian Government, formally Her Majesty's Government in Canada, is the Federal government of Canada. Canadian Internal Waters is a Canadian legal term of art that refers to " The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS) also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty is the international agreement that resulted ^[5][6]

Contents 1 Overview 2 Historical expeditions 2.1 Strait of Anián 2.2 Northern Atlantic 2.3 Northern Pacific 2.4 Cook and Vancouver 2.5 19th century 2.6 Franklin expedition 2.7 McClure expedition 2.8 John Rae 2.9 Amundsen expedition 2.10 Later expeditions 3 International waters dispute 4 Effects of climate change 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

Overview

Before the Little Ice Age, the Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island and Ruin Island for hunting expeditions and trading with the Inuit groups who already inhabited the region. The Little Ice Age (LIA was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Skraeling Island lies off the east coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, colonial powers from Eurasia dispatched explorers in an attempt to discover a commercial sea route north and west around North America. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the established trading nations of Asia. In 1493 to defuse trade disputes, Pope Alexander VI split the discovered world in two between Spain and Portugal; thus France, the Netherlands and England were left without a sea route to Asia, either via Africa or South America. Pope Alexander VI ( 1 January 1431 &ndash 18 August 1503) born Roderic Llançol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja ( Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a ^[7] The British called the hypothetical route the Northwest Passage. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The desire to establish such a route motivated much of the European exploration of both coasts of North America. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the continent, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters. This was driven in some part by scientific naiveté, namely an early belief that seawater was incapable of freezing (as late as the mid 18th century, Captain James Cook had reported, for example, that Antarctic icebergs had yielded fresh water, seemingly confirming the hypothesis), and that a route close to the North Pole must therefore exist. Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater Ice that has broken off from a snow-formed Glacier or Ice shelf and is floating in open water The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern ^[7] The belief that a route lay to the far north persisted for several centuries and led to numerous expeditions into the Arctic, including the attempt by Sir John Franklin in 1845. The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. Sir John Franklin, FRGS ( April 16, 1786 &ndash June 11, 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and In 1906, Roald Amundsen first successfully completed a path from Greenland to Alaska in the Gjøa. Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən ( July 16, 1872 – c Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Gjøa was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three year journey finishing Since that date, several fortified ships have made the journey.

From west to east the Northwest Passage runs through the Bering Strait (separating Russia and Alaska), Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea and then through several waterways that go through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Bering Strait (Берингов пролив Beringov proliv) is a sea Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43' Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Chukchi Sea (Чуко́тское мо́ре is a Marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. There are five to seven different routes through the archipelago, including the McClure Strait, Dease Strait and the Prince of Wales Strait, but not all of them are suitable for larger ships. The McClure Strait (sometimes rendered M'Clure Strait) is a Strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. Dease Strait ( lies between the mainland and Victoria Island in Nunavut, Canada. The Prince of Wales Strait is a Strait in the Northwest Territories of Canada separating Banks Island to the northwest from Victoria Island ^[8][9] The passage then goes through Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait into the Atlantic Ocean. Baffin Bay (French Baie de Baffin) is a Sea between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans Davis Strait (Détroit de Davis lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of

There has been speculation that with the advent of global warming the passage may become clear enough of ice to again permit safe commercial shipping for at least part of the year. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the On August 21, 2007, the Northwest Passage became open to ships without the need of an icebreaker. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. An icebreaker is a special purpose Ship or Boat designed to move and navigate through Ice -covered waters According to Nalan Koc of the Norwegian Polar Institute this is the first time it has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972. The Norwegian Polar Institute (in Norwegian: Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway 's national institution for polar research ^[10][11]

Historical expeditions

As a result of their westward explorations and their settlement of Greenland, the Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island and Ruin Island for hunting expeditions and trading with Inuit groups. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Skraeling Island lies off the east coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting The subsequent arrival of the Little Ice Age is thought to be one of the reasons that further European seafaring into the Northwest Passage ceased until the late 15th century. The Little Ice Age (LIA was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum

Strait of Anián

In 1539, Hernán Cortés commissioned Francisco de Ulloa to sail along the peninsula of Baja California on the Western coast of America. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, See also Francisco Ulloa (accordionist Francisco de Ulloa (died 1540 was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of The Baja California peninsula ( English: Lower California peninsula) is a Peninsula in western Mexico. Ulloa concluded that the Gulf of California was the southernmost section of a strait supposedly linking the Pacific with the Gulf of St. Lawrence. " Sea of Cortez " redirects here For the book by John Steinbeck, see The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Gulf of Saint Lawrence (French golfe du Saint-Laurent) the world's largest Estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint His voyage perpetuated the notion of the Island of California and saw the beginning of a search for the Strait of Anián. The Island of California refers to a long-held European misconception dating from the 16th century that California was not part of mainland North America but

The strait probably took its name from Ania, a Chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of Marco Polo's book; it first appears on a map issued by Italian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi about 1562. Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Giacomo Gastaldi ( Villafranca Piemonte c. 1500 - Venice, October 1566 was an Italian Cartographer of the 16th century Five years later Bolognini Zaltieri issued a map showing a narrow and crooked Strait of Anian separating Asia from America. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America The strait grew in European imagination as an easy sea-lane linking Europe with the residence of the Great Khan in Cathay (northern China). For other titles related to and uses of Khan, see that article Origin The title Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National It was originally placed at approximately the latitude of San Diego, California, leading some who live in the region to call it "Anian" or "Aniane".

Cartographers and seamen tried to demonstrate its reality. Sir Francis Drake sought the western entrance in 1579. Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c 1540 &ndash 27 January 1595 was an English Privateer, navigator, Slaver, and politician The Greek pilot Juan de Fuca claimed he had sailed the strait from the Pacific to the North Sea and back in 1592. Ioánnis Fokás ( Greek: Ιωάννης Φωκάς better known as Juan de Fuca (born 1536 on the Ionian island of Kefallonia; died there 1602 The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The Spaniard Bartholomew de Fonte claimed to have sailed from Hudson Bay to the Pacific via the strait in 1640.

Northern Atlantic

The first recorded attempt to discover the Northwest passage was the east-west voyage of John Cabot in 1497, sent by Henry VII in search of a direct route to the Orient. Giovanni Caboto ( c 1450 - c 1498 known in English as John Cabot, was an Italian Navigator and explorer commonly credited as the The Orient is a term which simply means the " East " It originated in Western Asia to describe that part of the world ^[7] The next of several British expeditions was launched in 1576 by Martin Frobisher, who took three trips west to what is now the Canadian Arctic in order to find the passage. Sir Martin Frobisher (c 1535 or 1539 &ndash November 22, 1594) was an English seaman (from Wakefield, Yorkshire) who made three Northern Canada is the vast Northernmost Region of Canada variously defined by Geography and Politics. Frobisher Bay, which he first charted, is named after him. Frobisher Bay is a relatively large inlet of the Labrador Sea in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. As part of another hunt, in July 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who had written a treatise on the discovery of the passage and was a backer of Frobisher, claimed the territory of Newfoundland for the English crown. Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c 1539 &ndash 9 September 1583was an English murderer Adventurer, Explorer, Member of parliament, and soldier from Devon Newfoundland — ˈn(jufənˌlænd (Terre-Neuve Talamh an Éisc — is a large island 15 km off the east coast of On August 8, 1585 the English explorer John Davis for the first time entered Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English John Davis (1550?-December 29 1605 was one of the chief English navigators and explorers under Elizabeth I, especially in Polar regions Cumberland Sound (Latitude 6533395424° Longitude -66014009028° is a body of water between Baffin Island 's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula Baffin Island (ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ Qikiqtaaluk, Île de Baffin Old Norse: Helluland) in the territory of Nunavut is the largest member

The major rivers on the east coast were also explored in case they could lead to a transcontinental passage. Jacques Cartier's explorations of the Saint Lawrence River were initiated in hope of finding a way through the continent. Jacques Cartier (December 31 1491&ndashSeptember 1 1557 was a French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France Saint Lawrence River (in French: fleuve Saint-Laurent; Kahnawáˀkye in Tuscarora, Kaniatarowanenneh meaning big waterway Indeed, Cartier managed to convince himself that the St. Lawrence was the Passage; when he found the way blocked by rapids at what is now Montreal, he was so certain that these rapids were all that was keeping him from China (in French, la Chine), that he named the rapids for China. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec To this day, they are the Lachine Rapids. The Lachine Rapids are a series of Rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore In 1609 Henry Hudson sailed up what is now called the Hudson River in search of the Passage; encouraged by the saltiness of the water, he reached present-day Albany, New York, before giving up. Henry Hudson' (1570 &ndash 1611 was an English Sea explorer and Navigator in the early 17th century The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. He later explored the Arctic and Hudson Bay.

Northern Pacific

Although most Northwest Passage expeditions originated in Europe or on the east coast of North America and sought to traverse the Passage in the westbound direction, some progress was made in exploration of its western end as well. In 1728 Vitus Bering, a Danish Navy officer in Russian service, used the strait first discovered by Semyon Dezhnyov in 1648 but later accredited to and named after Bering (the Bering Strait), concluding North America and Russia were separate land masses. Vitus Jonassen Bering (also less correctly Behring) ( August 1681 &ndash December 19, 1741) was a Danish -born navigator in the Semyon (Semнon Semion Simon Ivanovich Dezhnev (Семён Ива́нович Дежнёв c The Bering Strait (Берингов пролив Beringov proliv) is a sea Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43' Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Later in 1741 with Lieutenant Alexei Chirikov he went in search of further lands beyond Siberia. Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov (Алексей Ильич Чириков (1703 – November 1748 was a Russian Navigator and Captain who charted some of the Aleutian Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Whilst separated, Chirikov discovered several of the Aleutian Islands while Bering charted the Alaskan region before the scurvy-ravaged ship wrecked off Kamchatka. The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, " Island " are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming a Volcanic Scurvy (NLat scorbutus is a disease resulting from a deficiency of Vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of Collagen in humans

In 1762, the English trading ship Octavius reportedly hazarded the passage from the west but became trapped in sea ice. The Octavius was a Ghost ship, probably legendary and not actual Sea ice is formed from Ocean water that freezes Because the Oceans consist of Saltwater, this occurs at about -1 In 1775, the whaler Herald found the Octavius adrift near Greenland with the bodies of her crew frozen below decks. For other uses see Whalers. A whaler is a specialized kind of ship designed for Whaling, the catching and/or processing of Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Thus the Octavius may have earned the distinction of being the first Western sailing ship to make the passage, although the fact that it took 13 years and occurred after the crew was dead somewhat tarnishes this achievement. (The veracity of the Octavius story is questionable. )

The Spanish made numerous voyages to the northwest coast of North America during the late 18th century. Determining whether a North West Passage existed was one of the motivations for this effort. Among the voyages that involved careful searches for a Passage include the 1775 and 1779 voyages of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (baptized 3 June, 1743 &ndash 26 March, 1794) was a Peruvian naval officer born in The journal of Francisco Antonio Mourelle, who served as Quadra's second in command in 1775, fell into English hands and was translated and published in London. Francisco Antonio Mourelle de la Rúa (1755 &ndash May 24, 1820) was a Spanish naval officer and Explorer. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Captain James Cook made use of the journal during his explorations of the region. Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and In 1791 Alessandro Malaspina sailed to Yakutat Bay, Alaska, which was rumored to be a Passage. Alessandro Malaspina (also spelled Alexandro and Alejandro; November 5, 1754 - April 9, 1810) was an Italian Yakutat Bay is a 29-km-wide (18 mi bay in the US state of Alaska, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. In 1790 and 1791 Francisco de Eliza led several exploring voyages into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, searching for a possible North West Passage and finding the Strait of Georgia. Francisco de Eliza y Reventa (1759 &ndash February 19, 1825) was a Spanish naval officer Navigator, and Explorer. The Strait of Juan de Fuca (also called Juan de Fuca Strait) is a large body of water about long forming the principal outlet for the Georgia Strait and Puget The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait (also known as the Gulf of Georgia) is a Strait between Vancouver Island (as well as its nearby To fully explore this new inland sea an expedition under Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was sent in 1792. Dionisio Alcalá Galiano ( October 8, 1760 &ndash October 21, 1805) was a Spanish naval officer cartographer and explorer He was explicitly ordered to explore all channels that might turn out to be a North West Passage.

Cook and Vancouver

In 1776 Captain James Cook was despatched by the Admiralty in Great Britain under orders driven by a 1745 act which, when extended in 1775, promised a £20,000 prize for whoever discovered the passage. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Initially the Admiralty had wanted Charles Clerke to lead the expedition, with Cook (in retirement following his exploits in the Pacific) acting as a consultant. Captain Charles Clerke RN ( August 22, 1741 – August 1779 was an officer in the Royal Navy who sailed on four voyages of exploration However Cook had researched Bering's expeditions, and the Admiralty ultimately placed their faith in the veteran explorer to lead with Clerke accompanying him.

After journeying through the Pacific, in another west–east attempt, Cook began at Nootka Sound in April 1777 and headed north along the coastline, charting the lands and searching for the regions sailed by the Russians 40 years previously. For other uses of the word Nootka see Nootka (disambiguation. The Admiralty's orders had commanded the expedition to ignore all inlets and rivers until they reached a latitude of 65°N. Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the Cook, however, failed to make any progress in sighting a Northwestern Passage.

Various officers on the expedition including William Bligh, George Vancouver and John Gore thought the existence of a route was 'improbable'. Vice-Admiral William Bligh FRS RN (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817 was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator Captain George Vancouver Captain John Gore (d1790 was an American sailor who circumnavigated the globe four times with the Royal Navy in the 18th century and accompanied Captain James Before reaching 65°N they found the coastline pushing them further south, but Gore convinced Cook to sail on into the Cook Inlet in the hope of finding the route. Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. They continued to the limits of the Alaskan peninsula and the start of the thousand-mile chain of Aleutian Islands. Despite reaching 70° N they encountered nothing but icebergs. ^[7]

From 1791 to 1795, the Vancouver Expedition (led by George Vancouver who had accompanied Cook previously) surveyed in detail all the passages from the Northwest Coast and confirmed that there was no such passage south of the Bering Strait. The Vancouver Expedition (1791-1795 was a five-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy commanded by Captain George Vancouver. The British Columbia Coast is Canada 's western continental coastlines ^[12] This conclusion was supported by the evidence of Alexander Mackenzie who explored the Arctic and Pacific oceans in 1793. Sir Alexander Mackenzie (Alasdair MacCoinnich 1764 - March 12, 1820) was a Scottish-Canadian explorer.

19th century

In the first half of the 19th century, some parts of the actual Northwest Passage (north of the Bering Strait) were explored separately by many expeditions, including those by John Ross, William Edward Parry, and James Clark Ross; overland expeditions were also led by John Franklin, George Back, Peter Warren Dease, Thomas Simpson, and John Rae. Sir John Ross, CB, ( 24 June 1777 &ndash 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Rear admiral and Arctic For the later admiral (1893-1972 see Edward Parry; for the New Zealand politician see William Parry (New Zealand Sir William Edward Sir James Clark Ross ( April 15, 1800 &ndash April 3, 1862) was a British naval officer and explorer. Sir John Franklin, FRGS ( April 16, 1786 &ndash June 11, 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Sir George Back ( 6 November 1796 &ndash 23 June 1878) was a British Naval officer, Explorer of the Canadian Dr John Rae ( 30 September 1813 &ndash 22 July 1893) was a Scottish doctor who became known as an explorer of In 1825 Frederick William Beechey explored the north coast of Alaska, discovering Point Barrow. Frederick William Beechey ( February 17, 1796 &ndash November 29, 1856) was an English Naval officer and Geographer Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast of the U

Sir Robert McClure was credited with the discovery of the real Northwest Passage in 1851 when he looked across McClure Strait from Banks Island and viewed Melville Island. Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure (or M'Clure) ( 28 January 1807 &ndash 17 October 1873) was a British Explorer The McClure Strait (sometimes rendered M'Clure Strait) is a Strait on the edge of the Canadian Northwest Territories. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Banks Island ( is situated in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Melville Island is a vast uninhabited member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Canada with an area of. However, this strait was not navigable to ships at that time, and the only usable route linking the entrances of Lancaster Strait and Dolphin and Union Strait was discovered by John Rae in 1854. Dolphin and Union Strait ( lies in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, between the mainland and Victoria Island.

Franklin expedition

Main article: Franklin's lost expedition

In 1845, a well-equipped two-ship expedition led by Sir John Franklin sailed to the Canadian Arctic to chart the final unknown parts of the Northwest Passage. Franklin's lost expedition was a doomed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845. Sir John Franklin, FRGS ( April 16, 1786 &ndash June 11, 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Confidence was high, as there was less than 500 kilometres (311 miles) of unexplored Arctic mainland coast left. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States When the ships failed to return, relief expeditions and search parties explored the Canadian Arctic, resulting in final charting of a possible passage. Traces of the expedition have been found, including notes that indicate that the ships became ice-locked in 1846 near King William Island, about half way through the passage, and were unable to extricate themselves. King William Island ( Qikiqtaq) is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and forms part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Franklin died in 1847 and the last of the party in 1848, after abandoning the ships and attempting to escape overland by sledge. A sled, sledge or sleigh is a Vehicle with runners for sliding instead of wheels for rolling While starvation and scurvy contributed to the deaths of the crew, another factor may have been significant. Starvation (also called inanition) is a severe reduction in Vitamin, Nutrient, and Energy intake and is the most extreme form of Scurvy (NLat scorbutus is a disease resulting from a deficiency of Vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of Collagen in humans The expedition took 8,000 tins of food which were sealed with a lead-based solder. A solder is a fusible metal Alloy with a melting point or melting range of 90 to 450 ° C (200 to 840 ° F) used in a process called The lead appears to have contaminated the food, poisoning the crew. They would have become weak and disoriented — later stages of lead poisoning include insanity and death. Lead poisoning (also known as saturnism, plumbism, or painter's colic) is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the metal Lead in In 1981 Dr. Owen Beattie, an anthropologist from the University of Alberta, examined remains from sites associated with the expedition. The University of Alberta (U of A is a public research University located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ^[13] This led to further investigations and the examination of tissue and bone from the frozen bodies of three seamen, exhumed from the permafrost of Beechey Island. This article is about frozen ground For other meanings see Permafrost (disambiguation. Beechey Island is an Island located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada, in Wellington Channel. Laboratory tests revealed high concentrations of lead in all three. ^[14] Another researcher suggests that botulism, and not lead poisoning, was the cause of deaths among crew members. Botulism ( Latin, botulus, "sausage" is a rare but serious Paralytic illness caused by Botulin Toxin. ^[15] New evidence shows that cannibalism may also have been a last resort for some of the crew. Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος ^[16]

McClure expedition

During the search for Franklin, Commander Robert McClure and his crew in HMS Investigator traversed the Northwest Passage from west to east in the years 1850 to 1854, partly by ship and partly by sledge. Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure (or M'Clure) ( 28 January 1807 &ndash 17 October 1873) was a British Explorer McClure started out from England in December 1849, sailed the Atlantic Ocean south to Cape Horn and entered the Pacific Ocean. Cabo de Hornos redirects here for the Chilean commune see Cabo de Hornos Chile. He sailed the Pacific north and passed through the Bering Strait, turning east at that point and reaching Banks Island.

McClure's ship was trapped in the ice for three winters near Banks Island, at the western end of Viscount Melville Sound. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Banks Island ( is situated in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Viscount Melville Sound is a body of water that separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Finally McClure and his crew—who were by that time dying of starvation—were found by searchers who had travelled by sledge over the ice from a ship of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition, and returned with them to Belcher's ships, which had entered the sound from the east. Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, KCB ( 27 February 1799 &ndash 18 March 1877) was a British Naval officer On one of Belcher's ships, McClure and his crew returned to England in 1854, becoming the first people to circumnavigate the Americas and to discover and transit the Northwest Passage, albeit by ship and by sledge over the ice. This was an astonishing feat for that day and age, and McClure was knighted and promoted to captain, and both he and his crew shared £10,000 awarded them by the British Parliament. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories

John Rae

Main article: John Rae (explorer)

The expeditions by Franklin and McClure were in the tradition of British exploration: well-funded ship-borne expeditions using modern technology, and usually including British Naval personnel. Dr John Rae ( 30 September 1813 &ndash 22 July 1893) was a Scottish doctor who became known as an explorer of The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) By contrast, John Rae was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, which was the major driving force behind exploration of the Canadian North. They adopted a pragmatic approach and tended to be land-based. While Franklin and McClure attempted to explore the passage by sea, Rae explored by land, using dog sleds and employing techniques he learned from the native Inuit. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting The Franklin and McClure expeditions each employed hundreds of personnel and multiple ships. John Rae's expeditions included less than ten people and succeeded. Rae was also the explorer with the best safety record, having lost only one man in years of traversing Arctic lands. In 1854, ^[17] Rae returned with information about the outcome of the ill-fated Franklin expedition.

Amundsen expedition

The Northwest Passage was not conquered by sea until 1906, when the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who had sailed just in time to escape creditors seeking to stop the expedition, completed a three-year voyage in the converted 47-ton herring boat Gjøa. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən ( July 16, 1872 – c Gjøa was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three year journey finishing At the end of this trip, he walked into the city of Eagle, Alaska, and sent a telegram announcing his success. Eagle is a city located along the United States-Canada border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. Although his chosen east–west route, via the Rae Strait, contained young ice and thus was navigable, some of the waterways were extremely shallow making the route commercially impractical. Rae Strait, named after Arctic explorer John Rae, is a small Strait in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada.

Later expeditions

The first traversal of the Northwest Passage via dog sled^[18] was accomplished by Greenlander Knud Rasmussen while on the Fifth Thule Expedition (1921–1924). A dog sled is a Sled pulled by one or more Sled dogs used to travel over Ice and through Snow. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen ( June 7, 1879 &ndash December 21, 1933) was a Greenlandic polar explorer and Rasmussen, and two Greenland Inuit, travelled from the Atlantic to the Pacific over the course of 16 months via dog sled. Kalaallit is the Greenlandic term for the population living in Greenland.

In 1940, Canadian RCMP officer Henry Larsen was the second to sail the passage, crossing west to east, from Vancouver to Halifax. Henry Asbjörn Larsen ( September 30, 1899 &ndash October 29, 1964) was a Canadian Arctic explorer. Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal The City of Halifax (est 1841 is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County More than once on this trip, it was unknown whether the St. Roch a Royal Canadian Mounted Police "ice-fortified" schooner would survive the ravages of the sea ice. History 1928 - constructed in North Vancouver British Columbia, Canada at Burrard Dry Dock Shipyards 1929-1939 - supplied A schooner (ˈskuːnɚ is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts Schooners were first used by the At one point, Larsen wondered "if we had come this far only to be crushed like a nut on a shoal and then buried by the ice. " The ship and all but one of her crew survived the winter on Boothia Peninsula. Boothia Peninsula (formerly Boothia Felix) is a large Peninsula in Nunavut 's northern Canadian Arctic, south of Somerset Each of the men on the trip was awarded a medal by Canada's sovereign, King George VI, in recognition of this notable feat of Arctic navigation.

Later in 1944, Larsen's return trip was far more swift than his first; the 28 months he took on his first trip was significantly reduced, setting the mark for having traversed it in a single season. The ship followed a more northerly partially uncharted route, and it also had extensive upgrades.

On July 1, 1957, the United States Coast Guard cutter Storis departed in company with U. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) When used in a nautical sense a cutter is a small single-masted vessel Fore-and-aft rigged with two or more Headsails a Bowsprit, and S. Coast Guard cutters Bramble (WLB-392) and SPAR (WLB-403) to search for a deep draft channel through the Arctic Ocean and to collect hydrographic information. Hydrography focuses on the measurement of physical characteristics of Waters and marginal land Upon her return to Greenland waters, the Storis became the first U.S.-registered vessel to circumnavigate North America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Shortly after her return in late 1957, she was reassigned to her new home port of Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak (Кадьяк is one of 6 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough in the U

In 1969, the SS Manhattan made the passage, accompanied by the Canadian icebreaker Sir John A. Macdonald. The SS Manhattan was an oil tanker that became the first commercial ship to cross the Northwest Passage in 1969 An icebreaker is a special purpose Ship or Boat designed to move and navigate through Ice -covered waters The Manhattan was a specially reinforced supertanker sent to test the viability of the passage for the transport of oil. Ships with an Ice Class have a strengthened hull to enable them to navigate through Sea ice. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry While the Manhattan succeeded, the route was deemed not to be cost effective, and the Alaska Pipeline was built instead. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ( TAPS) usually called the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska or the Alaska Pipeline elsewhere is a major U

In June 1977 sailor Willy de Roos left Belgium to attempt crossing the Northwest Passage in his 13. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those 8 m (45 ft) steel yacht Williwaw. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit He reached the Bering Strait in September and after a stopover in Victoria, British Columbia, went on to round Cape Horn and sail back to Belgium, thus being the first sailor to circumnavigate the Americas entirely by ship. Victoria (vɪkˈtɔɹiə is the capital city of British Columbia. Cabo de Hornos redirects here for the Chilean commune see Cabo de Hornos Chile. ^[19]

In 1984, the commercial passenger vessel MS Explorer (which sank in the Antarctic Ocean in 2007) became the first cruise ship to navigate the passage. History The Explorer was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish - American pioneer of exotic expedition tours and built in 1969 The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience ^[20]

David Scott Cowper set out in July 1986 from England in a 12. David Scott Cowper is a British Yachtsman and was the first man to sail solo round the world in both directions and also to successfully sail the Northwest passage single-handed 8 m (42 foot) lifeboat, the Mabel El Holland, and survived 3 Arctic winters in the Northwest Passage before reaching the Bering Strait in August 1989. He then continued around the world via the Cape of Good Hope to arrive back on 24 September 1990, becoming the first vessel to circumnavigate via the Northwest Passage^[21]. The Cape of Good Hope ( Afrikaans: Kaap die Goeie Hoop, Kaap de Goede Hoop Cabo da Boa Esperança Persian Language: دماغه امید نیک Events 622 - Prophet Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)

On September 1, 2001, Northabout, an 14. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 3 m (47 ft) aluminium sailboat with diesel engine^[22], built and captained by Jarlath Cunnane, completed the Northwest Passage east-to-west from Ireland to the Bering Strait. In some cases less is more The purpose of this article is to give an overview Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific was completed in a very fast time of 24 days. The Northabout then cruised in Canada for two years before it returned to Ireland in 2005 via the Northeast Passage thereby completing the first east-to-west circumnavigation of the pole by a single sailboat. The Northern Sea Route (Се́верный морско́й путь Severniy morskoy put’) is a Shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific The Northeast Passage return along the coast of Russia was slower, starting in 2004, with an ice stop and winter over in Khatanga, Siberia—hence the return to Ireland via the Norwegian coast in October 2005. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Khatanga (Хатанга is a village ( selo) in the Taymyr Peninsula, in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional On January 18, 2006, The Cruising Club of America awarded Jarlath Cunnane their Blue Water Medal, an award for "meritorious seamanship and adventure upon the sea displayed by amateur sailors of all nationalities. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. "

On July 18, 2003, a father and son team, Richard and Andrew Wood, with Zoe Birchenough, sailed a yacht Norwegian Blue into the Bering Strait. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Two months later she sailed into the Davis Strait to become the first British yacht to transit the Northwest Passage from west to east. She also became the only British vessel to complete the Northwest Passage in one season.

On May 19, 2007, a French sailor, Sébastien Roubinet, and one other crew member left Anchorage, Alaska, in Babouche, a 7. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 5 m (25 ft) ice catamaran designed to sail on water and slide over ice. A catamaran (From Tamil 'kattumaram' is a type of Multihulled Boat or Ship consisting of two hulls or vakas joined by some The goal was to navigate west to east through the Northwest Passage by sail only. Following a journey of more than 7,200 kilometres (4,474 mi), Roubinet reached Greenland on September 9, 2007, thereby completing the first Northwest Passage voyage made without engine in one season. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[23]

International waters dispute

The Canadian government claims that some of the waters of the Northwest Passage, particularly those in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, are internal to Canada, giving Canada the right to bar transit through these waters. ^[6] Most maritime nations,^[24] including the United States and the nations of the European Union,^[25] consider them to be an international strait, where foreign vessels have the right of "transit passage". The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS) also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty is the international agreement that resulted ^[26] In such a régime, Canada would have the right to enact fishing and environmental regulation, and fiscal and smuggling laws, as well as laws intended for the safety of shipping, but not the right to close the passage. ^[27][28] In 1985, the U. S. icebreaker Polar Sea passed through, and the U. Machinery Polar Sea is an outstanding Polar icebreaker with exceptional hull design, power strength and weight S. government made a point of not asking permission from Canada. They claimed that this was simply a cost-effective way to get the ship from Greenland to Alaska and that there was no need to ask permission to travel through an international strait. The Canadian government issued a declaration in 1986 reaffirming Canadian rights to the waters. However, the United States refused to recognize the Canadian claim. In 1988 the governments of Canada and the U. S. signed an agreement, "Arctic Cooperation", that did not solve the sovereignty issues but stated that U. S. icebreakers would require permission from the Government of Canada to pass through. ^[29]

In late 2005, it was alleged that U. S. nuclear submarines had travelled unannounced through Canadian Arctic waters, sparking outrage in Canada. In his first news conference after the federal election, Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper contested an earlier statement made by the U. The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Honorific prefixes --> Stephen Joseph Harper PC S. ambassador that Arctic waters were international, stating the Canadian government's intention to enforce its sovereignty there. The allegations arose after the U.S. Navy released photographs of the USS Charlotte surfaced at the North Pole. History On 29 November 2005, Charlotte arrived in Norfolk Virginia, having taken the northern route from Pearl Harbor, under The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern ^[30][31]

On April 9, 2006, Canada's Joint Task Force North declared that the Canadian military will no longer refer to the region as the Northwest Passage, but as the Canadian Internal Waters. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Canada Command ( Canada COM) is responsible for all domestic Canadian and North American continental joint Military operations by the The Canadian Forces (CF ( French: Forces canadiennes) are the unified Armed forces of Canada, governed by the National Defence Canadian Internal Waters is a Canadian legal term of art that refers to " ^[32] The declaration came after the successful completion of Operation Nunalivut (Inuktitut for "the land is ours"), which was an expedition into the region by five military patrols. Inuktitut ( Inuktitut syllabics: iu-Cans ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ( fonts required literally "like the Inuit") is the name of the varieties of ^[33]

In 2006 a report prepared by the staff of the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of Canada suggested that because of the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States might be less interested in pursuing the international waterways claim in the interests of having a more secure North American perimeter. ^[29] This report was based on an earlier paper, The Northwest Passage Shipping Channel: Is Canada’s Sovereignty Really Floating Away? by Andrea Charron, given to the 2004 Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute Symposium. The Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute is a Calgary Alberta -based Canadian lobbying organization ^[9] Later in 2006 former United States Ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci agreed with this position; however, the current ambassador, David Wilkins, states that the Northwest Passage is in international waters. This is a list of ambassadors from the United States to Canada. Argeo Paul Cellucci (born April 24, 1948) is an American politician and diplomat former Governor of Massachusetts, and former Ambassador David Horton Wilkins (born October 12, 1946) is the current United States Ambassador to Canada. ^[34]

On July 9, 2007 Prime Minister Harper announced the establishment of a deep-water port in the far North. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. In the government press release the Prime Minister is quoted as saying, “Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic. We either use it or lose it. And make no mistake, this Government intends to use it. Because Canada’s Arctic is central to our national identity as a northern nation. It is part of our history. And it represents the tremendous potential of our future. "^[35]

On July 10, 2007, Rear Admiral Timothy McGee of the United States Navy, and Rear Admiral Brian Salerno of the United States Coast Guard announced that the United States would also be increasing its ability to patrol the Arctic. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. Timothy McGee is a retired officer of the United States Navy. ^[36]

Effects of climate change

Around the time of the Viking sagas and for at least two more centuries (a conservative interval from AD 1000 to 1200 that also happens to include the dates allotted to some of the larger Norse ships), prior to the Little Ice Age some limited regions of the Arctic may have been somewhat warmer than they were in the early twentieth century, and were certainly warmer than they were in the depths of the Little Ice Age (see Medieval Warm Period). Arctic shrinkage is the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the observed melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent years A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages The Little Ice Age (LIA was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum The Medieval Warm Period (MWP or Medieval Climate Optimum was a time of unusually Warm Climate in the North Atlantic region lasting from about Also, the sea level in the Arctic was different from that of the present day. ^[37] Because of glacial rebound land levels of the land masses about the Northwest Passage have risen upwards of 20 m in the centuries after the Viking times. Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound, isostatic adjustment or post-ice-age isostatic recovery)

In the summer of 2000, several ships took advantage of thinning summer ice cover on the Arctic Ocean to make the crossing. It is thought that global warming is likely to open the passage for increasing periods of time, making it attractive as a major shipping route. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the However the passage through the Arctic Ocean would require significant investment in escort vessels and staging ports. Therefore the Canadian commercial marine transport industry does not anticipate the route as a viable alternative to the Panama Canal even within the next 10 to 20 years. The Panama Canal is a man-made Canal in Panama which joins the ^[38]

On September 14, 2007, the European Space Agency announced that ice loss had opened up the passage "for the first time since records began in 1978". Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the latter part of the 20th century and the start of the 21st had seen marked shrinkage of ice cover. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment ( ACIA) is a study describing the ongoing Climate change in the Arctic and its Arctic shrinkage is the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the observed melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent years The extreme loss in 2007 rendered the passage "fully navigable". ^[39][40] The ESA suggested the passage would be navigable "during reduced ice cover by multi-year ice pack" (namely sea ice surviving one or more summers) where previously any traverse of the route had to be undertaken during favourable seasonable climatic conditions or by specialist vessels or expeditions. The agency's report speculated that the conditions prevalent in 2007 had shown the passage may "open" sooner than expected. At least 3 boats successfully completed the journey in 2007. ^[41]

Scientists at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union on December 13, 2007, revealed that NASA satellites observing the western Arctic showed a 16% decrease in cloud coverage during the summer of 2007 compared to 2006. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. This would have the effect of allowing more sunlight to penetrate Earth's atmosphere and warm the Arctic Ocean waters, thus melting sea ice and contributing to the opening the Northwest Passage. ^[42]

See also

• North West Passage Territorial Park
• Territorial claims in the Arctic
• Northern Sea Route (Northeast Passage)
• Arctic Bridge
• Manhattan (ship)
• Panama Canal

Notes

References

External links

• Norwegian Blue, first British Yacht to transit from West to East
• Irish Expedition completes the elusive Northwest Passage
• Arctic Passage at PBS' Nova site has articles, photographs and maps about the Northwest Passage, particularly the 1845 Franklin and 1903 Amundsen expeditions
• Exploration of the Northwest Passage
• The Sir John Franklin Mystery
• 'The Great Game in a cold climate'
• Mission to Utjulik
• The Voyage of the Manhattan
• U.S. nuclear submarines travel in Canadian Arctic waters without permission
• Canada considers the Northwest Passage its internal waters, but the United States insists it is an international strait.
• Information Memorandum for Mr. Kissinger—The White House 1970
• CBC Digital Archives—Breaking the Ice: Canada and the Northwest Passage
• Nova Dania: Quest for the NW Passage—NEARA Journal Vol. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the Nova is a Popular science Television series from the US produced by WGBH Boston Sir John Franklin, FRGS ( April 16, 1786 &ndash June 11, 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən ( July 16, 1872 – c The New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA is a non-profit organization dedicated to a particular understanding of the history and prehistory of New England that 39 #2
• An article on the Northwest Passage from The Canadian Encyclopedia

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