Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a route that ships can take through the Arctic Ocean. Imagine you're on a big boat and you need to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Normally, you would have to go all the way around the bottom of South America or Africa, which takes a really long time. But if you take the Northwest Passage, you can go straight through the top of Canada instead.

However, the Northwest Passage is very tough to navigate because there is a lot of ice in the way. It's like trying to walk through a room that's full of furniture and toys, but instead of that, there are big blocks of ice that can be very dangerous for your boat.

Because the Arctic has been getting warmer due to climate change, the ice is melting and more and more ships are able to use the Northwest Passage. But this can also be bad for the environment because it can cause more pollution and disturb animals that live in the Arctic.