The southern route is open, while the northern route still has some lingering ice in Parry Channel.
Published Sep 13, 2015
Acquired July 17, 2012, and August 3, 2012, these natural-color images show the retreat of sea ice from the Parry Channel in the Northwest Passage.
Published Aug 9, 2012
This image shows sea ice around the Northwest Passage as observed by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 22, 2007. McClure Strait, Parry Channel, Victoria Strait, and McClintock Channel (north of Victoria Strait), all appear nearly ice-free. North of McClure Strait, an area of sea ice remains, but it is fragmented.
Published Aug 28, 2007
From the time Europeans discovered the North American continent to the mid-twentieth century, sailors searched for a northwest passage that would connect the Atlantic Ocean (and Europe) to the Pacific Ocean (and Asia). No such passage exists through the continent, but during the summer, a northwest route through the Arctic opens up.
Published Aug 1, 2006
Acquired August 2, 2012, this image shows a largely open Northwest Passage.
Published Aug 6, 2012
Acquired August 27, 2009, this true-color image shows the partial opening of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Besides some ice-free and ice-clogged channels, the image also shows the varied topography of snow-free islands.
Published Sep 3, 2009
