Strait of Anián: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Strait of Anián was the 16th century Spanish name for the Northwest Passage that supposedly connected the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean in the temperate or tropic regions of North America. It was based on the idea that North America was not a continent but a large archipelago. Such a strait does not in fact, exist, although the Northwest Passage itself was discovered in the 20th century through the Canadian Arctic islands.