There is such a unique strait, which in the English-speaking countries is called Dover. Under its bottom passes the Eurotunnel. This is the famous English Channel, representing an amazingly curious piece of land. 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 features will be discussed in this article.
English Channel
The strait connects the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea. 578 kilometers is its length, the width on the western part - 250 km, on the eastern - 130 km. The smallest depth is 23.5 meters.
It is important to note that between the cities of Calais and Dover (as the narrowest part of the English Channel is called, we learn a little lower) a unique tunnel is built.
More than 52 km (38 km of the highway is directly under the strait) is its length.
The main ports are: Le Havre, Portsmouth, Cherbourg and Southampton. There are islands, the largest of which are located off the coast of Great Britain (Isle of Wight) and off the coast of France (Channel Islands).
The history of the formation of the island of Great Britain
In ancient Rome, this strait was called Oceanus Britannicus, which translates as the "British Ocean". As time passed, he became less and less. In the Victorian era, it had the name - “The British Sea”, and today sailors call this place simply “The Sleeve”.
Theoretically, in the English Channel there were lowlands (something like the Netherlands) in ancient times. Then the sea surface began to rise and fill the vast valleys with ocean waters. This place became the bottom of the current strait that separated Great Britain from the mainland.
Before we find out which is the narrowest part of the English Channel, consider another theory of the origin of this strait.
A new version
More than 20 years ago, another, one might say, catastrophic theory of events appeared. Most geographers perceive it a little far-fetched.
In the journal Nature, a scientific article by London scholars from Imperial College was published, which stated that the strait separating Great Britain and France was formed as a result of other natural processes. They believe that the cause of the English Channel was the catastrophic outflow of water from a huge lake, which was formed as a result of the confluence of the Rhine and Thames in the ice age.
Sanjeev Gupta, director of these studies, said that more than 420 thousand years ago, Britain and France were connected by the Veld Artois anticline. This is a chalk ridge, the height of which reached 180 meters precisely in the area of the strait under consideration, and in the western part of it lay lowlands. Water from the Rhine, 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, subsequently forming a huge lake, which was fed by rivers and the melting of the glacier.
What is the narrowest part of the English Channel, its location
This site is located between the parent of Europe and the island of Great Britain.
This is a great 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, under the water, the Eurotunnel is built.
Description
There is an expression in geology - a megapotop. It denotes events that have occurred over the past 500 years in the territory now representing a water barrier between the islands of Britain and the continent. It's about the same English Channel.
Translated from the French 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. About 34 km wide is the narrowest part of the English Channel.
