Do you know the name of the narrowest part of the English Channel?

There is such a unique strait, which in English-speaking countries is called Dover. Under its bottom passes Eurotunnel. This is the famous English Channel, representing a surprisingly curious plot of land. And it is interesting not only for its landscapes, but also for its origin. What is the name of the narrowest part of the English Channel? About her location and about the features will be told in this article.

Geographical position of the English Channel

The strait connects the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea. 578 kilometers is its length, width on the western part - 250 km, on the east - 130 km. The smallest depth is 23.5 meters.

It is important to note that a unique tunnel has been built between the cities of Calais and Dover (as the narrowest part of the Channel is called, we will find out below).

More than 52 km (38 km of the route is directly under the strait) is its length.

The main ports are: Le Havre, Portsmouth, Cherbourg and Southampton. There are also islands, the largest of which are located off the coast of Great Britain (White Island) and off the coast of France (Channel Islands).

History of the formation of the island

In ancient Rome, this strait was called Oceanus Britannicus, which translates as "British Ocean". At the end of time, he became less and less. In the Victorian era, he had the name - "British Sea", and today the sailors call this place just "sleeve" (The Sleeve).

Theoretically in place of the English Channel in the old days were lowland land (something like the Netherlands). Then the sea surface level began to rise and fill the vast valleys with the waters of the ocean. This place became the bottom of the now existing strait that separated Great Britain from a large continent.

Before we know what the narrowest part of the English Channel is, consider another theory of the origin of this channel.

A new version

More than 20 years ago there was one more, it is possible to say, catastrophic theory of development of events. Most geographers perceive it a little far-fetched.

In the journal Nature, a scientific article was published by London scientists from Imperial College, which stated that the strait separating the UK and France was formed as a result of other natural processes. They believe that the cause of the birth of the Channel was the catastrophic outflow of water from a huge lake, which was formed as a result of the confluence of the Rhine and the Thames in the glacial period.

The head of these studies Sanjeev Gupta said that more than 420 thousand years ago, Britain and France were connected by the anticlamation of Veld-Artois. This is a chalky ridge, whose height reached 180 meters in the area of the strait in question, and in the western part of it lay lowlands. Water from the Rhine, the Thames and other rivers flowed here through the North Sea.

And when the glaciers blocked the North Sea, river water began to accumulate in a confined space, forming subsequently a huge lake, which was fueled by rivers and melting glaciers.

What is the name of the narrowest part of the English Channel, its location

This site is located between the mother part of Europe and the island of Great Britain.

This is a magnificent place with beautiful landscapes, where on a clear sunny day you can see the buildings located on the other side of the strait, and at night see bright glowing lights.

The narrowest part of the English Channel is called the Pas-de-Calais or the Dover strait. Its width is only 32 km. It is located just between the French city of Calais and the English port of Dover. Passenger boat crosses the Pas-de-Calais in 1,5-2 hours. In this place, Eurotunnel was built under water.

Description

There is an expression in geology - a mega-flux. They denote events that have occurred over the past 500 years on the territory now representing a water barrier between the islands of Britain and the continent. It's about the same English Channel.

In French, the English Channel means "sleeve". In the UK it is called the English Channel. Its length is about 560 km, and the maximum width is 240 km. Approximately 34 km wide is the narrowest part of the English Channel.

Curious facts about the strait as a whole

• During the First World War, the hollow of the Heard Deep, located on the bottom of the English Channel, was used by the British to dispose of chemical weapons. And after the Second World War (1941-1945), the Germans were flooded here. From 1946 to 1973, radioactive isotopes were buried here.
• The very first swimmer in the history of mankind, crossing the English Channel, was Matthew Webb. This swim in 1875 lasted almost 22 hours (without 15 minutes).
• Eurotunnel trains Eurostar at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
• On one of the islands of the strait with the name Sark (Normandy Islands), feudalism remained until 2008. The island until this very moment was ruled by a council of elders. This is the last island in Europe with this kind of management.
• In the English Channel there is a giant eel, whose weight exceeds 100 kilograms, and the length reaches 3 meters.
• The only railway operates on the island of Alderney (Channel Islands), built in 1847. Its length is 3 km. It works only in the summer and only on weekends and on holidays.

We learned the name of the narrowest part of the English Channel, found out the history of the emergence of the strait and realized that this place is one of the most interesting corners of the planet Earth.