View source for Messier Channel

{{Short description|Channel located in Patagonia, Chile}}
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[[Image:2019-03-14 CAPITÁIN LEONIDAS - IMO 5542705.jpg |thumb|250px|Wreck of the ''Captain Leonidas'' in the Messier Channel]]

'''Messier Channel''' is a [[channel (geography)|channel]] located in western [[Patagonia]], [[Chile]]. It trends north–south between [[Wellington Island]] and other Pacific islands and the continent.

Maritime traffic traveling south from the [[Gulf of Penas]] passes between [[Wager Island]] to the west and the [[Larenas Peninsula]] to the east to enter the Messier Channel.<ref>[{{geonameslink|gnid=3884797|name=Larenas_Peninsula}} Larenas Peninsula] in [{{geonamesabout}} Geonames.org (cc-by)]</ref> There is a [[List of lighthouses in Chile: NGA2044–NGA2324|lighthouse]] ([[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]] 2044) on Islote San Pedro, which is just to the east of Wager Island. Continuing further south, ships pass by [[Prat Island]], [[Serrano Island]], and [[Wellington Island]]. Southward the name of this inside passage changes first to ''[[Angostura Inglesa]]'' (English Narrows) and then to ''{{interlanguage link|Paso del Indio|es}}'' (Indian Passage).

The channel is named after [[Charles Messier]], who was a French astronomer. It is a [[fjord]] in the Scandinavian sense of the word. A depth of 1,358 m has been measured in the north part of this channel, making it one of the deepest fjords in the world.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Piret|first1=Loic|last2=Bertrand|first2=Sebastien|last3=Vandekerkhove|first3=Elke|last4=Harada|first4=Naomi|last5=Moffat|first5=Carlos|last6=Rivera|first6=Andres|title=Gridded bathymetry of the Baker-Martinez fjord complex (Chile, 48°S) v1|url=https://figshare.com/articles/Gridded_bathymetry_of_the_Baker-Martinez_fjord_complex_Chile_48_S_v1/5285521|website=figshare.com.}}</ref> Messier Channel is surrounded by the [[Bernardo O'Higgins National Park]] and the [[Katalalixar National Reserve]].

The [[Fallos Channel|Fallos]]-[[Ladrillero Channel|Ladrillero]]-[[Picton Channel]] combination is an optional route to the Messier-[[Grappler Channel|Grappler]]-[[Wide Channel]] route between the [[Golfo de Penas]] and the [[Trinidad Channel]].

At 48.745850S, 74.428750W is the wreck of MV ''Captain Leonidas'', a  freighter that ran aground on the Bajo Cotopaxi (Cotopaxi Bank) in 1968. The hulk provides warning as both a shipwreck and [[lighthouse]] (NGA-nr: 2068, Adm.: G 1552), marking the northern terminus of ''Angostura Inglesa'' (English Narrows),

==See also==
* [[List of islands of Chile]]
* [[List of fjords, channels, sounds and straits of Chile]]
* [[List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands]]
* [[List of lighthouses and lightvessels in Chile]]

==References==
<references />
*[http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386i/chile-arg/wet/past.html Past Glaciations and "Little Ice Ages"]
*[http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0071-17131998003300004&lng=en&nrm=iso Multilingual substratum and superstratum in the toponymy of the south of Chile] (Spanish)
*[https://figshare.com/articles/Gridded_bathymetry_of_the_Baker-Martinez_fjord_complex_Chile_48_S_v1/5285521 Piret et al. (2017) - Gridded bathymetry of the Baker-Martinez fjord complex (Chile, 48°S) v1]

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[[Category:Straits of Chile]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Aysén Region]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Magallanes Region]]
{{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub}}