What is a Strait ?
A strait is natural narrow water way that connects two large water bodies. In other words it can be also be defined as a thin channel of water way which separates comparatively two enormous water bodies.
Difference between Strait and Isthmus
Isthmus is just opposite to a Strait. A thin piece of land which connects two bigger lands is called Isthmus. For example Isthmus of Panama connects North America and South America. A canal is generally built across an isthmus artificially to promote navigation from one part to other part by water. Panama canal is such an example which connects Atlantic ocean to Pacific ocean.
Some of the important and major straits of the world are described as follows –
Major Straits of World : Bering Strait
The narrow sea between the Bering strait connects Arctic ocean East Pacific ocean near the countries of USA (Alaska state) and Russia. In other terms it can also be said that this strait connects Asia to the America. It has been named after famous explorer Vitus Bering. At the narrowest point its width is 82 Km. On one side lies Cape Dezhnev, Russia while the other side lies cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, US. The international Date line passes through this states which makes either sides of the strait falling on different calendar dates.
Major Straits of World : Bosporus Strait
This strait connects Black sea to Marmara sea which in turn is connected to Aegean sea and then Mediterranean sea. In other words it can be also said that it provides a passage from Black sea to strategically most important European Mediterranean sea. This strait partially separates Asia from Europe. It is also the world’s narrowest navigable strait. It is 31 Km long and average 3.3 Km wide. At the narrowest point the width is 800 m which makes this narrowest strait of world. It has average depth of about 65 mt. It is also known as Istanbul Strait and lies completely inside Turkish territory.
Dardanelles Strait
It is also located in Turkey and lies just opposite to the Bosporus strait. It connects Aegean sea with sea of Marmara. It is around 60 Km long and just 1 km to 5 Km wide. It also forms a boundary line between Europe and Asia just like Bosporus strait.
Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
Hormuz strait connects Persian Gulf with Gulf of Oman and separates UAE and Musandam goveronrate of Oman in west to Iran in east. This is to note that Gulf of Oman is just a part of Arabian sea. Gulf of Oman which is itself a strip of water-body can also be called as strait separating Oman from Iran. Hormuz strait which is just 54 Km wide at narrowest point. It is the strategically most important strait of the world as it controls the oil trade from the Gulf countries.
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb separates Asia from Africa. In other words it can be said that this strait separates Arabian Peninsula from Somali peninsula. Precisely speaking it separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea and connects Red sea with Gulf of Aden (part of Arabian sea).
Major Straits of World : Strait of Dover
Strait of Dover and English Channel on Europe Map
This strait connects North Sea with English channel. Broadly speaking, it is the narrowest part of English channel which opens near the north sea. It separates Great Britain from France i.e. the mainland Europe. It is 33 Km wide and one can sea the opposite end with naked eye on a clear sunny day. On either sides lies Dover, county of England in north and Cape Gris Nez, Calais, France in south. Most of the swimmers who cross English channel use this strait for swimming across.
Major Straits of World : Gibraltar Strait
This strait connects the Mediterranean sea with Atlantic ocean. This strait geographically separates Europe from Africa. One side of the strait the strait lies Spain (Europe Continent) and on the other part lies Morocco (African Continent). This strait was called as Pillars of Hercules by Ancient Greeks. This strait is under administrative control of British (British overseas territory). The narrowest width of this strait (distance between Africa and Europe) is just 14.3 Km. Its depth varies between 300 to 900 mt. This is a strategic location as most of the international Cargo ship containers passes from this strait.
Major Straits of World : Malacca Strait
This strait separates Peninsular Malaysia from Sumatra island of Indonesia. This strait connects Pacific ocean at its south-east end to Indian ocean at its north-west end. It is about 800 Km long which runs from southern most point of Thailand up to the peninsular Malaysia in east part and Indonesian Sumatra in west. Its width is about 65 Km. It provides a shorter route for ships travelling from Indian Ocean (Andaman sea) to South China sea and saves thousands of kilometers and this is the reason why it is one of the busiest waterways.
Major Straits of World : Palk Strait
It connects Bay of Bengal at northeast end to Gulf of Mannar at western end. It separates Pamban island of Rameshwaram district, India from Mannar island of Sri Lanka. Dhanushkodi (India) and Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) lies on the either points of this strait. This strait is about 60 to 80 km wide. The southwest part contains numerous low-rising islands and reefs which is known as Adam’s Bridge (Ramsetu). These islands makes the navigation of ships virtually impossible. Sethusamudram Project was Proposed to create a channel by cutting out a passage in Adam’s Bridge for easy navigation of Ships from Bay of Bengal to Gulf of Mannar. This project was opposed on religious grounds.
Major Straits of World : Sunda Strait
This strait connects Java sea to Indian Ocean and separates Java island of Indonesia with its Sumatra island. On either sides of this strait lies Cape Tua on Sumatra and Cape Pujat on Java island. The eastern part of the straight is very shallow and depth is nearly 20 m only making it very difficult for navigating large ships.
Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary is also called as Tartar or Tatar strait. This is located in East Asia (north Pacific ocean). This strait separates Sakhalin island from mainland Russia. This strait connects Okhotsk sea and sea of Japan.
Interesting Facts about Straits of World
- Longest strait of world – Strait of Malacca which separates Malay peninsula from Sumatra island of Indonesia. It is 800 Km long.
- Widest strait of world – Denmark strait (or Greenland strait) which separates Greenland from Iceland. It is 290 km wide at the narrowest point.
- Narrowest strait of world – Bosphorus strait, at the narrowest point the width is 800 m.
- Shallowest strait of world – Sunda strait, at the eastern part the depth decreases to about 20 mt making it very difficult for navigation.
- Strait that separates Asia from America – Bering strait.
- Strait that separates Australia from Tasmania – Bass strait
- Strait that separates Europe from Africa – Gibraltar strait
List of other major Straits of Africa
| Strait | Joining Sea | Separating Lands |
|---|---|---|
| Mozambique channel | Indian ocean | Madagascar and Mozambique (mainland Africa) |
| Tiran strait | Gulf of Aqaba and Red sea | Sinai and Arabian peninsula |
| Zanzibar strait | Indian ocean | Zanzibar (Unguja) island from Tanzania (mainland Africa) |
List of other major Straits of America
| Strait | Joining Sea | Separating Lands |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Strait | Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic ocean | Florida Keys and Cuba |
| Yuctan Channel | Caribbean sea with Gulf of Mexico | Mexico and Cuba |
| Mona Passage | Caribbean sea and Atlantic ocean | Puerto Rico |
| Jamaica Channel | Caribbean sea and north Atlantic | Jamaica and Hispaniola |
| Davis strait | Baffin bay and Labrador sea | Greenland and Baffin island |
| Hudson strait | Hudson bay and Labrador sea | Baffin island and Labrador peninsula |
| Denmark strait | Greenland sea and Irminger sea | Iceland and Greenland |
| Nares strait (Smith sound) | Baffin bay and Lincoln sea (Arctic ocean) | Greenland and Ellesmere Island of Canada |
| Belle Isle strait | Gulf of St Lawrence and Atlantic ocean | Labrador peninsula and Newfoundland |
List of other major Straits of Asia
| Strait | Joining sea | Separating Lands |
|---|---|---|
| Bab-el-Mandeb | Red sea and Gulf of Aden | Yemen (Arabian Peninsula) and Djibouti, Eritrea of Smali Peninsula |
| Hormuz strait | Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf | Iran and UAE |
| Duncan Passage | Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea | Rutland island of Great Andaman and Little Andaman |
| Korea Strait | East China sea and sea of Japan | Japan and South Korea |
| Ten Drgree Channel | Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea | Little Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands |
| Taiwan (Formosa or Black Ditch) Strait | East China sea and North China sea | Taiwan island from mainland Asia |
| Qiongzhou (Hainan) Strait | Gulf of Tonkin and South China sea | Hainan island and Leizhou peninsula |
List of other major Straits of Europe
| Strait | Joining sea | Separating Lands |
|---|---|---|
| Bonifacio strait | Tyrrhenian sea and Mediterranean sea | Corsica island of France and Sardina islands of Italy |
| Corfu strait | Adriatic sea and Ionian sea | Albania and Greece |
| North Channel(Moyle strait) | Irish sea and Atlantic ocean | northeast Ireland and southwest Scotland |
| Otranto Strait | Italy and Albania | Adriatic sea and Ionian sea |
| St George's channel (Irish Channel) | Irish sea and Celtic sea | Ireland and Great Britain |
| Strait of Sicily | West and East Mediterranean sea | Sicily island of Italy and Tunisia (Africa) |
List of other major Straits of Oceania
| Strait | Joining Sea | Separating Lands |
|---|---|---|
| Bali strait | Indian ocean and Bali sea | Java and Bali islands of Indonesia |
| Bass strait | Great Australian Bight and Tasman sea | Tasmania island and mainland Australia |
| Cook Strait | Tasman sea and south Pacific | Northa and South Island of New Zealand |
| Karimata strait | South China sea and Java sea | Sumatra and Borneo islands of Indonesia |
| Singapore strait | Strait of Malacca and South China sea | Singapore and Indonesia |
| Torres strait | Arafura sea and Gulf of Papua | Australia and Melanesian island of New Guinea |
| Vitiaz strait | Bismark sea and Soloman sea | Huon peninsula and New Britain of New Guinea |