San Carlos Water is a bay/
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...
on the west coast of
East Falkland, facing onto the
Falkland Sound.
Name
Despite its
Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San Carlos" refers to all of the much larger
Falkland Sound, which runs between the two main islands of
West Falkland
West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...
and East Falkland.
The settlements of
San Carlos and
Port San Carlos on the Water, as well as
San Carlos River, all take their names from the ship ''San Carlos'', which visited in 1768.
Description
San Carlos Water is a
fjord-like inlet at an angle of 45° to the
Falkland Sound coastline, thereby offering shelter from the weather in the Sound (which is itself sheltered from the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...
by bluffs in the north and an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...
in the south). The inlet is 9.3 miles (15 km) in length and for about half of its length, is about 1.2 miles (2 km) wide. It is flat-bottomed with a depth of between ; the 20 m
isobath lying about 660 feet (200 m) offshore.
The tidal range at
Port San Carlos varies between (for neap and spring tides respectively) with low water being between above the
chart datum.
The San Carlos settlement lies close to the head of the inlet.
The inlet has eight official anchorage points.
[
The smaller and shallower Port San Carlos is an inlet to the north of San Carlos Water.][
]
Settlements
* Ajax Bay
* Campo Verde
* San Carlos
* Port San Carlos
History
San Carlos Water became notorious during the Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
as "Bomb Alley" during the Battle of San Carlos. British troops routed the Argentine land forces, but British ships were pounded by Argentine air raids. It was of crucial strategic value in the amphibious assault, and British invasion of Argentine-occupied East Falkland.
Along with Grantham Sound
Grantham Sound () is a bay on East Falkland, Falkland Islands, which opens out into the Falkland Sound. At its landward end, it narrows and becomes Brenton Loch (sometimes included as a part of it). Mount Usborne overlooks it.
Along with San Ca ...
, it is one of the proposed East Falkland termini for the anticipated ferry to West Falkland
West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...
.
Gallery
Image:Blue-Beach.JPG, Landing site of 2 Para at Blue Beach, San Carlos Water.
Image:Falkland island san carlos landing.png, San Carlos Water and British landing sites in Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
Image:Port-San-Carlos.JPG, Port San Carlos
Image:San-Carlos.JPG, San Carlos Settlement
Image:Gentooajaxbay.jpg, Gentoo penguins, the current residents of Ajax Bay
Image:Ajaxbayview.jpg, The ruined freezer plant at Ajax Bay
File:HMS Antelope 1982.jpg, HMS ''Antelope'' returning to San Carlos Water 23 May 1982
References
{{Coord, -51.508, -59.080, dim:20000_region:FK, display=title
Bays of East Falkland