Do you know what the name of the narrowest part of the English channel?

There is a unique channel, which in English-speaking countries is called Dover. Under its bottom, passes the Eurotunnel. This famous channel, representing a surprisingly interesting plot. And it is interesting not only for its landscapes but also for its origin. What is the narrowest part of the English channel? Its location and the characteristics will be discussed in this article.

Geographical position of the English channel

Strait connects the Atlantic ocean with the North sea. 578 kilometers of its length, width at the West end – 250 km, on the East – 130 km, and The smallest depth – 23.5 meters.

It is Important to note that between Calais and Dover (what is the narrowest part of the channel, find out more below) a unique tunnel.

More than 52 km (38 km of motorway is located directly under the Strait) is its length.

The two Main ports are Le Havre, Portsmouth, Cherbourg and Southampton. There are Islands, the largest of which are located off the coast of the UK (Wight) and off the French coast (the channel Islands).

History of the formation of the island of Britain

In Ancient Rome, the Strait was called the Oceanus Britannicus, which translates as "the British ocean". After a time he became less and less. In the Victorian era, he had the name – "British sea", but today the sailors call this place simply "sleeve" (The Sleeve).

Theoretically, the location of the channel in the old days was low-lying land (like the Netherlands). Then level the surface of the sea began to rise and fill the broad valleys of the waters of the ocean. This place was the bottom of the existing Strait separating Britain from the mainland.

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Before we know what the most narrow part of the channel, let us consider another theory of the origin of this Strait.

New release

More than 20 years ago, there was another, we can say catastrophic theory of events. The majority of geographers takes it a bit far-fetched.

In the journal Nature published a scientific paper scientists from London's Imperial College, which stated that separating the UK and France the Strait was formed as a result of other natural processes. They believe that the reason for the birth of the English channel was a catastrophic outflow of water from a huge lake, which was formed in the merger of the Rhine and of the Thames during the glacial period.

The Head of these studies, Sanjeev Gupta said that more than 420 thousand years ago Britain and France were connected with an anticline of the Weald-Artois. This is a chalk ridge, whose height reached 180 meters in the area in question of the Strait, and in the Western part from her lay the lowlands. Water from the Rhine, the Thames and other rivers flowed through here in the North sea.

And when the ice sheets blocked the North sea, the river water began to accumulate in a confined space, subsequently forming a huge lake that was fed by rivers and melting of the glacier.

What is the narrowest part of the channel, location

This Is the area between the maternal part of Europe and the island of Britain.

It's a great place with wonderful landscapes, where clear Sunny day you can see the buildings located on the other side of the Strait, and at night to see the bright glowing lights.

The narrow part of the channel is called Pas-de-Calais or Strait of Dover. Its width is only 32 km away and It is just between the French city of Calais and the English port of Dover. A passenger boat crosses the Pas-de-Calais for 1.5-2 hours. In this place under water, built the Eurotunnel.

Description

In Geology Is the expression – megafoto. They are indicated by events in the last 500 years, representing now a water barrier between the Islands of Britain and the continent. We are talking about the same channel.

Translated from the French La Manche, means "sleeve." In the UK it is called the "English channel". The length is about 560 km and a maximum width – 240 km, About 34 km in width is the narrowest part of the English channel.

Interesting facts about the Strait as a whole

• During the first world war trench "Hertz Dip", located on the bottom of the English channel, the British were used for burial of chemical weapons. And after the Second world war (1941-1945) it was flooded the arms of the Germans. From 1946 to 1973 were made of radioactive isotopes.
• The first swimmer in history to swim the English channel was Matthew Webb. The swim in 1875, lasted nearly 22 hours (15 minutes).
• Eurotunnel train “find” move at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
• On one of the Islands of the Strait called Sark (channel Islands) remained feudal until 2008. Island until this moment, was ruled by a Council of elders. This is the last of Europe's island with this kind of management.
• In the English channel resides a giant eel, weighing more than 100 kilograms, and the length reaches 3 meters.
• The Only railroad operates on the island of Alderney (channel Islands), built in 1847. Its length is 3 km away and it is only in summer and only on weekends andholidays.

We found out what the name of the narrowest part of the channel, found the history of the Strait and realized that this place is one of the most interesting parts of the planet Earth.