Amundsen's Gjøa: Through the Northwest Passage

Gjøa left the Oslofjord on 16 June 1903, crossed Baffin Bay and entered the Arctic archipelago. Early on, Amundsen stopped at Beechey Island to pay his respects to Franklin, whose doomed expedition had chosen the island's sheltered harbour for its first winter camp in 1845. The island is now part of the Beechey Island Sites National Historic Site of Canada, designated in 1993.

As ice closed in, Amundsen steered Gjøa into a natural harbour on King William Island, calling it "the finest little harbor in the world". She was iced in by 3 October 1903 and stayed nearly two years. The crew made sledge journeys to locate the north magnetic pole and learned from the local Netsilik: sled dogs for hauling, animal skins instead of wet wool. He later valued these lessons on his South Pole expedition. Gjøa sailed on 13 August 1905; the harbour is now Gjoa Haven, the island's only settlement.

Location precision: The pin marks the modern hamlet of Gjoa Haven, built on the harbour; the exact mooring spot is not given.

Gjøa was icebound again near Herschel Island in the Yukon, so Amundsen left his men aboard and skied about 500 miles south to Eagle, the nearest telegraph station. A line from Eagle to Valdez had opened in 1903. There, on 5 December 1905, he wired news that the Northwest Passage had been traversed. He then returned north to the ship.

Location precision: Amundsen's telegraph office is not identified in the sources; the pin marks the town of Eagle.

After a winter of waiting, Gjøa stayed icebound until 11 July 1906 and reached Nome on 31 August, having cleared the Canadian Arctic Archipelago the previous summer. While in Alaska, Amundsen had his compasses adjusted by the physicist Don C. Sowers. He also learned that Norway had a new king and sent the new king a message calling the passage "a great achievement for Norway", signed "Your loyal subject, Roald Amundsen".

Location precision: The sources name the town of Nome, not a specific quay; the pin marks the town.

Gjøa reached San Francisco on 19 October 1906 to a hero's welcome. The Norwegian American community persuaded Amundsen to sell her rather than sail home, and she was dragged up the beach at the northwest corner of Golden Gate Park. A caretaker lived aboard. She stayed there until 1972, and a bauta, a memorial standing stone, still stands near her former home.

Location precision: Only the park's northwest corner is described; the pin marks Golden Gate Park generally.

Amundsen left Gjøa in San Francisco; his crew were back in Oslo by November 1906, after three and a half years away. Built in 1872 at Rosendal as a herring boat, the little sloop finally came home in 1972 after a 45-day trip from San Francisco, and was first placed outside the Fram Museum. Today she sits inside her own building there.

Visitor guidance: Gjøa stands in her own building at the Fram Museum; check opening hours before you go.