Brief introduction of drake strait

Drake Strait is named after the discoverer Francis Drake, who was the captain of the British privateer in the16th century. Drake himself didn't sail through the Strait in the end, but chose to sail through the calmer strait of magellan.

In fact, Drake was not the first person to find it. As early as 1525, the Spanish navigator FranciscodeHoces had discovered this strait and sailed through it himself, so he named it MardeHoces. Unfortunately, this name has not been widely circulated. The average depth of the Drake Strait is 3,400 meters, and the deepest part of the north-south dividing line is about 4,800 meters. A westerly wind prevails over the Strait, especially in the northern half. The average annual temperature in the north is 5℃, and that in the south is 3℃ below zero. The lowest temperature in July is MINUS 20 degrees. There is no ice in the gorge in summer (February), and the largest ice area is in September. But floating icebergs may appear in the strait at any season.

The seawater in the canyon flows from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, which is a part of the Antarctic circulation with the largest flow in the world, with a flow rate of 6.5438+0.5 million cubic meters per second. The surface water temperature ranges from 6℃ in the north to-1℃ in the south. At 60 degrees south latitude, the temperature changes obviously. This area is called Antarctic convergence zone or polar front, which is surrounded by sub-polar surface water and colder Antarctic surface water. At the depth of 500-3050 meters, there is a warm and salty deep water circulation. As far as the whole Drake Strait is concerned, the salinity and oxygen content of seawater increase from south to north. Underwater photography shows that there are many marine animals here, most of which are sea urchins and starfish, as well as sponges. Plankton is also quite rich. The south is rich in krill. The Drake Strait lies between the southernmost tip of South America and south shetland islands, Antarctica, close to Chile and Argentina. It is an important channel connecting the southern Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and it is also the dividing line between South America and Antarctica. Before the Panama Canal was dug, the Drake Strait was one of the important sea passages connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Drake Strait, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, is the widest strait in the world. It lies between the southern tip of South America and south shetland islands in Antarctica. It is about 300 kilometers long from east to west and 970 kilometers wide from north to south. Drake Strait is an important passage to Antarctica all over the world. Due to the influence of polar cyclones, there are often strong winds and waves in the strait, and sometimes the wave height can reach 10-20 meters. Icebergs falling from the Antarctic often float in the strait, which makes navigation difficult.