English Channel (redirected from Narrow seas)

English Channel, Fr. La Manche [the sleeve], arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.350 (560 km) long, between France and Great Britain. It is 112 mi (180 km) wide at its west entrance, between Land's End, England, and Ushant, France. Its greatest width, c.150 mi (240 km) is between Lyme Bay and the Gulf of St.-Malo; at the east, between Dover and Cape Gris-Nez, it is 21 mi (34 km) wide. The Strait of Dover connects the Channel with the North Sea. Principal islands are the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. The principal Channel ports are Plymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Dover (in England) and Cherbourg, Le Havre, Dieppe, and Calais (in France). Noted resorts include Deauville, France, and Brighton, England. A train-ferry service to carry passengers and freight between Paris and London was opened between Dover and Dunkirk in 1936. There are other ferry and hovercraft links, as well as the link under the Channel via the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994. In 1785, J. P. Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries crossed the Channel by balloon; the first person to swim across was Matthew Webb (1875); and the first airplane crossing was made by Blériot in 1909.

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English Channel

 or the Channel French La Manche (“The Sleeve”)

Strait between southern England and northern France. It connects the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea through the Strait of Dover. The French name, La Manche (“The Sleeve”), is a reference to its shape, which gradually narrows from about 112 mi (180 km) in the west to only 21 mi (34 km) in the east, between Dover, Eng., and Calais, France. Historically both a route for and a barrier to invaders of Britain, it developed into one of the world's busiest sea routes for oil tankers and ore carriers. The Channel Tunnel, completed in 1994, provides a land route between Paris and London.

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English Channel

an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between S England and N France, linked with the North Sea by the Strait of Dover. Length: about 560 km (350 miles). Width: between 32 km (20 miles) and 161 km (100 miles)

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English Channel 

a strait between the northern coast of Western Europe and Britain. Together with Pas de Calais (Strait of Dover), it links the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 520 km long, and its width gradually narrows from about 180 km in the west to 32 km in the east. Its depth in the fairway is 35 m, and its maximum depth is 172 m. There are many shoals, especially in the eastern part. Western winds result in a steady eastward current with a velocity of up to 3 km per hour (in narrow sections). Tides are semidiurnal, reaching 12.2 m in some places (Golfe de Saint-Malo). Fogs are frequent.

The channel is important for transportation. One of the major routes (in cargo turnover) from the countries of the North and Baltic seas to North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia passes through the channel. The main British ports are Portsmouth, Southampton, and Plymouth, and the chief French ports are Le Havre and Cherbourg. Fishing is well developed (plaice, mackerel, cod, halibut). Plans are under consideration for building a tunnel under the Pas de Calais.