Black and white photograph of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen with sled dogs and aboard his ship. Capt. Roald Amundsen on his ship GJOA arrive in Nome, Alaska, August 31, 1906 after three years in the arctic. He determined the magnetic north pole and found the Northwest Passage. He made the first successful transit of the passage in his 47 ton herring boat. He took the following route from east to west: Baffin Bay, Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Peel Sound, Franklin Strait, Victoria Strait, Dease Strait, Amundsen Gulf, Beaufort Sea.