earth science

Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Northwest Passage rather than just read about it. In short: The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP).

Key takeaways

Northwest Passage belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Northwest Passage to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Northwest Passage from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP). The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from mainland Canada by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages, Northwestern Passages or the Canadian Internal Waters. In British English, it is often spelled North-west Passage. For centuries, European explorers, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1492, sought a navigable passage as a possible trade route to Asia, but were blocked by North, Central, and South America; by ice, or by rough waters (e.g. Tierra del Fuego). An ice-bound northern route was discovered in 1850 by the Irish explorer Robert McClure, whose expedition completed the passage by hauling sledges. Scotsman John Rae explored a more southerly area in 1854 through which Norwegian Roald Amundsen made the first complete passage entirely by ship in 1903–1906. Until 2009, the Arctic pack ice prevented regular marine shipping throughout most of the year. Arctic sea ice decline, linked primarily to climate change, has rendered the waterways more navigable for ice navigation. The contested sovereignty claims over the waters may complicate future shipping through the region: the Canadian government maintains that the Northwestern Passages are part of Canadian Internal Waters, but the United States claims that they are an international strait and transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage. If, as the head of a Canadian mining company claims, parts of the eastern end of the Passage are barely 15 metres (49 ft) deep, the route's viability as a Euro-Asian shipping route is reduced. In 2016, Chinese shipping line COSCO expressed a desire to make regular voyages of cargo ships using the passage to the eastern United States and Europe, after a successful passage by Nordic Orion of 73,500 tonnes deadweight tonnage in September 2013. Fully laden, Nordic Orion sat too deep in the water to sail through the Panama Canal.

Routes

The Northwest Passage has three sections:

East East of Baffin Island: Baffin Bay between Greenland and Baffin Island to Lancaster Sound at the north end of Baffin Island, or West of Baffin Island (impractical): Through Hudson Strait south of Baffin Island, north through the Foxe Basin, west through the Fury and Hecla Strait, north to Lancaster Sound through the Gulf of Boothia and Prince Regent Inlet. The Fury and Hecla Strait is usually closed by ice. Centre: Canadian Arctic Archipelago North: From Lancaster Sound west through the Parry Channel to the Prince of Wales Strait on the northwest side of Victoria Island. M'Clure Strait to the northwest is ice-filled; southwest through the Prince of Wales Strait between Victoria Island and Banks Island might be passable, or South: From Lancaster Sound west past Prince Regent Inlet (basically a cul-de-sac but it may be possible to exit west through the Bellot Strait), past Somerset Island, south through Peel Sound between Somerset Island and Prince of Wales Island, either southwest through Victoria Strait (ice-choked), or directly south along the coast through Rae Strait and James Ross Strait and west through Simpson Strait south of King William Island (shallow) into Queen Maud Gulf, then west along the mainland coast south of Victoria Island. West: There being no major islands, follow the coast to the Bering Strait. Many attempts were made to find a salt water exit west from Hudson Bay, but the Fury and Hecla Strait in the far north is blocked by ice. The eastern entrance and main axis of the northwest passage, the Parry Channel, was found in 1819. The approach from the west through Bering Strait is impractical because of the need to sail around ice near Point Barrow. East of Point Barrow the coast is fairly clear in summer. This area was mapped in pieces from overland in 1821–1839. This leaves the large rectangle north of the coast, south of Parry Channel and west of Baffin Island. This area was mostly mapped in 1848–1854 by ships looking for Franklin's lost expedition. The first crossing was made by Roald Amundsen in 1903–1906. He used a small ship and hugged the coast.

Overview

Early expeditions

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Northwest Passage

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Northwest Passage claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Northwest Passage before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Northwest Passage ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Northwest Passage

In research: Northwest Passage appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Northwest Passage in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Northwest Passage is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arctic Ocean, Canada–United States border disputes, Disputed waters, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Northwest Passage outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Northwest Passage in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Northwest Passage means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Northwest Passage out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Northwest Passage in simple terms?

Why does Northwest Passage matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Northwest Passage?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Northwest Passage.