This narrow channel between the central and southern islands of the archipelago funnels the rising tide into a powerful rush of water which has eroded it into a deep canyon, tapering outwards towards the interior coast.
The width of the canyon and the surging tides made bridging the gap with a permanent structure functionally impossible during early settlement; because of this, the long road instead circumnavigates it along the interior coast. This route passes through the archipelago’s largest stand of juniper mangroves, which were introduced to stabilize the canyon’s shifting estuary.