Satellite image of the Strait of Magellan
Until the Panama Canal was finished in 1914, the Strait of Magellan was the only safe way to move between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Protected by the Tierra del Fuego to the south and the bulk of South America to the north, ships crossed in relative ease, removed from the dangers of Drake Passage. Drake Passage is the relatively narrow stretch of ocean separating South America from Antarctica, the waters of which are notoriously turbulent, unpredictable, and frequented by icebergs and sea ice..