The Gulf of Penas (Golfo de Penas in Spanish, meaning "gulf of distress") is a body of water located south of the Taitao Peninsula, Chile.
Geography It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the gulfs of Tres Montes and San Esteban and San Quintín, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier Channel. To the south of the gulf lies Guayaneco Archipelago and to the east lies San Javier Island and then the mainland.
History Spanish explorers and Jesuits, sailing south from Chiloé Archipelago in the 17th and 18th centuries, regularly avoided rounding the Taitao Peninsula by entering the Gulf, after a brief land crossing at the isthmus of Ofqui.
In 1741, the British warship ran aground along the coast of (future) Wager Island, in the southeastern region of the Gulf, while attempting to tack from a lee shore during a storm. Some of the survivors were rescued by Chono chieftain Martín Olleta and his men, who took them aboard their dalcas to the Spanish settlements of Chiloé Archipelago.
In December 1843, the Chilean schooner Ancud rescued the survivors of wrecked French ship Fleuris on the shores of the Gulf.
Flora and fauna Local marine and terrestrial wildlife includes:
Banded wood frog
Chilean dolphin
Chiloé Island frog
Coypu
Dusky dolphin
Emerald forest frog
Grey wood frog
Guiña
Leopard seal
Long-finned pilot whale
Marbled wood frog
Marine otter
Nibaldo's wood frog
Orca
Patagonian toad
Puma
Puerto Eden frog
Sei whale
South American gray fox
South Andean deer (or huemul)
South American fur seal
South American sea lion
Southern elephant seal
Southern pudú
Southern right whale
Southern right whale dolphin
Southern river otter
Sperm whale
The Gulf is a suitable habitat for a number of species of baleen whales,Blue Marine Foundation, Patagonia and is speculated to be a wintering/calving ground for a population of the critically endangered southern right whale.Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), 2021, Encuentran refugio de crianza de ballena franca austral en la Patagonia chilena
See also Fjords and channels of Chile Laguna San Rafael National Park
References