Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel, Chile - port code BC2 – cruising only
Beagle Channel is a strait in Tierra del Fuego, near the southern tip of South America. Its ownership was long disputed between Argentina and Chile; in 1984 the Beagle Channel was awarded to Chile. The channel is about 150 miles in length and between 3 and 8 miles wide. Situated at what has been dubbed the "end of the world," the channel will take passengers past some of the most remote, mysterious land in the world. It was named after naturalist Charles Darwin's vessel, the HMS Beagle. As the Beagle charted the southern coasts of South America, Darwin examined geologic formations, collected fossils, and studied the plant and animal life. These studies reinforced his doubts that many species of life had come into being at one moment. Returning to England in 1837, he devoted his remaining years to perpetuating his theory of evolution as outlined in The Origin of Species. In it, he describes what has come to be called "the survival of the fittest," although he did not coin the phrase.
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