What is the Northwest Passage?

The Northwest Passage is a historic sea lane connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean along northern North America. For centuries, explorers searched for this route as a trade path to Asia, though it was largely blocked by ice until climate change and modern melting made it more navigable. The name also famously refers to a well-known a cappella song by Canadian musician Stan Rogers.

What we know

• The Northwest Passage is a sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean near northern North America. [3]
• Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen made the first complete passage entirely by ship between 1903 and 1906. [3, 5]
• Arctic sea ice decline linked to climate change has rendered the waterways more navigable for shipping. [3]
• Northwest Passage is also the title of a well-known 1981 a cappella song by Canadian musician Stan Rogers. [1, 2]

Still open

• The Canadian government maintains that the Northwestern Passages are part of Canadian internal waters, whereas the United States claims they are an international strait and transit passage.

Where to go next

• whoWho was Stan Rogers?
• how we knowHow did Roald Amundsen navigate the Arctic route?
• whenWhat happened to the Franklin expedition?
• what caused itHow does climate change affect Arctic sea ice?
• compared withWhat is the Northeast Passage?
• an unexpected connectionWhat links a Florida lighthouse to Ernest Hemingway?The Northwest Passage Light near Key West was locally known as the Hemingway house on the water based on a local legend that Ernest Hemingway fished from the structure.

Sources

• [1]Northwest Passage (Wikidata Q7060157) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Northwest Passage (song) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Northwest Passage · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Northwest Passage Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Northwest Passage Trail · CC BY-SA 4.0