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The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic waters north of North America that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It has long been sought after as a potential shortcut for shipping between Europe and Asia, though it remains extremely difficult to navigate due to ice and harsh conditions.
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Northwest Passage routes Envisat ASAR mosaic of the Arctic Ocean (September 2007), showing the most direct route of the Northwest Passage open (yellow line) and the Northeast Passage partially opened (blue line). The dark grey colour represents the ice-free areas, while green represents areas with sea ice.
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP). The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from mainland Canada by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages, Northwestern Passages or the Canadian Internal Waters. In British English it is often spelled North-west Passage.