North Channel (British Isles)

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North Channel (British Isles)

The North Channel (known in Irish Gaelic

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
and Scottish Gaelic as Sruth na Maoile, and alternatively in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
as the Straits of Moyle
Straits of Moyle

The Straits of Moyle or Sea of Moyle is the name given to the narrowest expanse of sea in the North Channel between northeastern Ireland and southwestern Scotland ....
or Sea of Moyle) is the strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
which separates eastern Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
from southwestern Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is part of the marine area officially classified as 'Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland' by the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).

The deepest part is called Beaufort's Dyke

Beaufort's Dyke

Beaufort's Dyke is the sea trench between Northern Ireland and Scotland within the North Channel. The dyke is 50 km long, 3.5 km wide and 200-300 metres deep....
.

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The North Channel (known in Irish Gaelic

Irish language

English language

Strait

Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
from southwestern Scotland

Scotland

Beaufort's Dyke

Beaufort's Dyke is the sea trench between Northern Ireland and Scotland within the North Channel. The dyke is 50 km long, 3.5 km wide and 200-300 metres deep....
. The Channel connects the Irish Sea

Irish Sea

The Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea portion of the Atlantic Ocean by St George's Channel between Republic of Ireland and Wales, and to the north by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland which forms part of...
with the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, and was thus a favourite haunt of privateer

Privateer

A privateer was a private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Strictly, a privateer was only entitled by its state to attack and rob enemy vessels during wartime....
s preying on British merchant shipping in wars up to the 19th century; in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
it was also the site of a naval duel

North Channel naval duel

}|-||}The North Channel naval duel was the fight between the United States Continental Navy sloop of war USS Ranger and the British Royal Navy sloop of war HMS Drake on the evening of 24 April 1778....
between American captain John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones was United States first well-known US Navy fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among the American ruling class, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day....
's Ranger
USS Ranger (1777)

The first USS Ranger was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy and received the first government-sanctioned salute to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power....
and the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
's Drake
HMS Drake (1777)

HMS Drake was a twenty-gun sloop-of-war of the Royal Navy. Originally named Resolution, she was purchased in 1777. She served in the American Revolutionary War, and on 24 April 1778, off Carrickfergus, Ireland, she fought the North Channel naval duel with the 18-gun sloop USS Ranger of the Continental Navy, commanded by Captain John...
. It is crossed by a large number of ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transport, usually a boat or ship, used to carry passengers and their vehicles across a body of water. Ferries are also used to transport freight and even railroad cars....
services. In 1953, it was the scene of a serious maritime disaster, the sinking of the ferry Princess Victoria
MV Princess Victoria

The MV Princess Victoria sank on 31 January 1953 in the North Channel with the loss of 133 lives. This was the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters since World War II....
.

Unionist Northern Irish political leaders for decade

Decade

A decade is a period of ten years. The word is derived from the late Latin language decas, from Greek language decas, from deca. The other words for spans of years also come from Latin: lustrum , century , millennium ....
s lobbied the UK government to construct a rail-link tunnel under the North Channel, to better integrate Northern Ireland into the rest of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. In August 2007 the Centre for Cross-Border Studies proposed the construction of a 34 km (21 mi) long rail

Rail

Rail or rails may refer to:* Guard rail, for safety or support* Handrail or hand rail, on a stairway* Rallidae, the group of birds called rails...
bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, Rail tracks, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle....
or tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide....
, estimating that it may cost approximately £

Pound sterling

----The pound sterling , subdivided into 100 pence , is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependency and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory....
3.5bn.

North Channel (British Isles)

See also