Drake Passage, Antarctica (南極--德瑞克海峽)

Drake Passage, Antarctica (南極--德瑞克海峽)

**The article is part of 25 days trip in South America and Antarctica, including 21 days onboard cruiser Zaandam.

Drake Passage-- (59°31'S 63°17'W) (-59.516661, -63.283344)

The Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the Southern Ocean. The passage receives its English name from the 16th century English Privateer Sir Francis Drake. Drake's ship, after having passed through the Strait of Magellan, was blown far south in September 1578. This incident implied an open connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Drake Passage with 950km in width, 300km in length and 3400m in average depth is a somewhat narrow body of water between Antarctica and South America. This violent stretch of chaotic water, one frequented by icebergs, huge waves and plagued by gale-force winds, is crossed by all sailors with great trepidation. We are fortunate to pass the dangerous passage in fine weather with 10kph breeze most of the way and enjoyed warm sunshine in early January.

**這篇部落格是25天南美洲及南極旅遊的部份內容(其中包含21天Zaandam尚丹號遊輪行程)

南極長年天候不佳，冬天冰封，夏天雪溶時，也僅有三個月的時間(12月、1月、2月)可以從事旅遊活動，即使是正夏天也很難得能有連續的兩三天晴天，而我們這次的旅行，卻遇到了難得的連續好幾天晴天，尤其來回兩次航行於德瑞克海峽(Drake Passage)時，這出名的惡水域竟風平浪靜，大家都到甲板上悠閒地享受溫暖的陽光。

德瑞克海峽座標-- (59°31'S 63°17'W) (-59.516661, -63.283344)

德瑞克海峽(Drake Passage)是南美洲合恩角(Cape Horn)與南極洲半島北側的南雪特蘭群島(South Shetland Islands)之間的海峽，連接大西洋(Atlantic Ocean)與太平洋(Pacific Ocean)，是南冰洋(Southern Ocean)的一部份。德瑞克海峽以十六世紀航海家英國私掠船(English Privateer)船長法蘭西斯德瑞克(Sir Francis Drake)為名。德瑞克海峽南北寬約950公里，東西長約300公里，平均水深約3400公尺，位處南緯六十度西風帶，以多風暴著名，長年浮冰不斷，是全球最危險的航道之一，也是南極洲與其他大陸的最短通道。