Strait

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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 mass

Land mass

Land mass refers to the total area of a country or geographical region . The Earth's total land mass is 148,939,063.133 km? which is about 29.2% of its total surface....
es, 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 because it contains an unnavigable reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
or archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
. The terms strait, channel
Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar , bay, or any shallow body of water....
, passage, sound
Sound (geography)

In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a Headlands and bays, deeper than a bight , wider than a fjord, or it may identify a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
, and firth
Firth

Firth is the Scots language word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. It is usually a large sea bay, which may be part of an estuary, or just an inlet, or even a strait....
can be synonymous and interchangeable, although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses.

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Encyclopedia

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 mass

Land mass

Reef

Archipelago

Shipping route

A shipping route is a trade route used by merchant ships.Early routes usually were coastal in nature as navigators had to rely on the coastal landmarks....
s, and war

War

...
s have been fought for control of these straits. Numerous artificial channels, called canal
Canal

Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: Aqueduct canals, which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans....
s, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land.

Although rivers and canals often form a bridge between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal definition of straits, they are not usually referred to as straits. Straits are typically much larger, wider structures.

Straits are the converse of isthmi

Isthmus

File:The Spit Bruny Island.jpg File:IsthmusOfPanama.pngAn isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas. Of note, the Isthmus of Panama connects the continents of North America and South America , and the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt connects Africa and Asia ....
. That is, while straits lie between two land masses and connect two larger bodies of water, isthmi lie between two bodies of water and connect two larger land masses.

A strait is similar to an inlet

Inlet

An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a Sound , bay , lagoon or marsh....
although inlets typically pass through island land masses usually from a large body of water such as an ocean to a much smaller body such as a bay while straits pass through much larger land masses and connect much larger bodies of water such as seas and oceans.

Tidal power

Some straits have the potential to generate significant tidal power

Tidal power

Tidal power, sometimes called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power....
using tidal stream turbines

Tidal power

Tidal power, sometimes called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power....
. Tides are more predictable than wave power

Wave power

Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful mechanical work ? for example for electricity generation, desalination, or the pumping of water ....
or wind power

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 120.8 gigawatts....
. The Pentland Firth

Pentland Firth

The Pentland Firth , which is actually more of a strait than a firth, separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. The name is presumed to be a corruption of "Petlandsfj?r?", the fjord of Pictland, and is completely unrelated to the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh....
(actually a strait) may be capable of generating 10 GW. Cook Strait

Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North Island and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
in New Zealand may be capable of generating 12GW.

Well-known straits

Well-known straits in the world include:

Palk strait
Palk Strait

The Palk Strait is a strait that lies between the Tamil Nadu States and territories of India of India and the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal to the northeast with the Gulf of Mannar to the south....
, between Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 States and territories of India of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southern most part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh....
state in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
, the location of Ram Sethu and rich in natural resources.
Strait of Dover
Strait of Dover

The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel. The shortest distance across the strait is from the South Foreland, some 6 kilometres north-east of Dover in the county of Kent, England, to Cap Gris Nez, a Headlands and bays near to Calais in the French of Pas-de-Calais, Franc...
, between England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
and France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, which connects the North Sea
North Sea

The North Sea is a marginal sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean....
with the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
.
Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is the strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain from Morocco. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic language Jebel Tariq meaning mountain of Tariq....
, the only natural passage between 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 the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
.
The Golden Gate
Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge....
, between the San Francisco Peninsula
San Francisco Peninsula

The San Francisco Peninsula in California separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the city of San Francisco....
and Marin County, connecting the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean....
and the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
.
Bosporus
Bosporus

The Bosporus or Bosphorus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms the boundary between the European part of Turkey and its Asian part ....
and the Dardanelles
Dardanelles

.The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara....
, which connect the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
and the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
.
Strait of Magellan
Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and north of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. The waterway is the most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the inhospitable climate and the narrowness o...
, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans north of Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago separated from the southernmost tip of the South American mainland by the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago forms Cape Horn....
.
Bering Strait
Bering Strait

The Bering Strait is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65? 40' north, slightly south of the polar circle....
between Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
and Siberia
Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
, which connects the Pacific
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
and Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
s.
Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf in the southwest....
connecting the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes Persian Gulf naming dispute referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although nei...
and the Oman Sea, through which Persian Gulf petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
is shipped to the world.
Strait of Malacca
Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, 805 km stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the state of Melaka, Malaysia....
, between Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia , also known as Malaya or West Malaysia, is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north....
and Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
, connecting the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
with the South China Sea
South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea*south of China,*west of the Philippines,*north west of Sabah , Sarawak and Brunei,*north of Indonesia,...
, is one of the highest-volume shipping lanes.
Bass Strait
Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland specifically the state of Victoria ....
, which lies between mainland Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
and Tasmania
Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and States and territories of Australia of the same name. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait....
, and connects the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60th parallel south latitude....
with the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
.
Cook Strait
Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North Island and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
, separating the North and South Islands of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
.
Bab el Mandeb, connecting the Red Sea
Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
and the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia, Socotra, Kanyakumari in India, and the western coast of Sri Lanka....
.
Skagerrak
Skagerrak

The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea....
and Kattegat
Kattegat

The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by Jutland , and Scania, Halland and Bohusl?n . The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Oresund and the Danish Straits....
which connect the North Sea
North Sea

The North Sea is a marginal sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean....
to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
.
Pentland Firth
Pentland Firth

The Pentland Firth , which is actually more of a strait than a firth, separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. The name is presumed to be a corruption of "Petlandsfj?r?", the fjord of Pictland, and is completely unrelated to the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh....
is more a strait than a firth
Firth

Firth is the Scots language word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. It is usually a large sea bay, which may be part of an estuary, or just an inlet, or even a strait....
. It separates the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands

Orkney is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises over 70 islands; around 20 are inhabited....
from Caithness
Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic Local government in Scotland of Scotland. The name was used also for the Earl of Caithness and the Caithness of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ....
in the north of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
.
Straits of Florida
Straits of Florida

The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys and Cuba....
separate the Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
peninsula from Cuba
Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba , the island of Isla de la Juventud, and several adjacent small islands....
. The Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Current, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic Ocean ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Straits of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland and Labrador before crossing the At...
current originates there.