Their quest was to promote commerce. Ferdinand Magellan found a channel across the bottom of South America in 1520. But it is a long, difficult route from Europe to Asia. So the search has gone on for a way "over the top," namely, across the frozen north above Canada.

For four centuries dozens of expeditions, land and sea, were mounted to find the fabled "Northwest Passage." Many men died in the attempts, and the stories of ships stranded above the Artic Circle in the cold and ice--some forever--are dramatic. Finally, in 1905, Roald Amundsen of Norway completed the trip in a small boat. But his complicated passage has never proven to have commercial possibilities.


Global Warming, at least the melting of the polar cap, may change the picture in years to come. An August 22, 2007 picture by NASA of the region (see above) indicates that the sea ice is retreating to the point where a commercial sea connection between Europe and Asia may become a reality. In the image, blue is open water; white indicates heavy sea ice concentration; and turquoise shows loosely packed sea ice. The Atlantic is on the bottom of the image; the Pacific on top. The small black circle in the center indicates the North Pole. A "nearly open" passage is evident from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the left of the Pole toward North America.


Even if a clear passage does occur, at least in summers, it will still be a tough way to move goods. The desolate Passage is 500 miles north of the Artic Circle and less than 1,200 miles from the North Pole. Sea ice is capricious, and mistakes or problems at sea can be fatal. But someday the Northwest Passage may compete with the Panama Canal (built in 1914) and the Strait of Magellan (1520) and Cape Horn as the way to get to the Far East…by sailing west.