The English Channel
The English Channel is a three hundred and fifty mile long arm of the Atlantic Ocean that covers an area of twenty nine thousand square miles.The channel is twenty one miles wide at it's narrowest point between Dover in England and Calais in France and is one hundred and fifty miles wide at it's widest point between Lyme Bay in England and St Malo in France. The International Hydrographic Organisation defines the English Channel as the smallest sea in Europe, with it's most southerly outer limit being situated at the point of the French Isle of Ushant, it's most northerly limit at the point of the British Isles of Scilly, it's most westerly point at the confluence with the Celtic Sea and it's most easterly limit at the southern most limit of the North Sea.
The channel has been known by many names throughout it's history.The first known name,which was coined by Roman geographer Ptolomy ( AD90 - AD168 ) during the second century was the Canalites Anglie. Since then the channel has been called Oceanus Brittanicus by the Romans, Mor Breizh by the Normans and The British Sea by medeival Britons. It is also called by many different names by other European nations, including, La Manche in French, Engelse Kanaal in Dutch, Armelkanal in German, El canal de la mancha in Spanish and Mor Udd in Welsh.
The English Channel is classified as the world's busiest waterway, which is surprising when you consider it is just three hundred and ninety feet deep and full of drifting sandbanks and the carcasses of hundreds of wartime ship and plane wrecks.
Most days the channel regularly sees over five hundred ships of all types - cargo, passenger, cruise ships, fishing boats, oil tankers, military, naval, coastguard and ferries - passing through it's waters, as well as several daily and weekly ferry crossings from it's main port at Dover, which is situated on the narrowest point of the channel, between Dover and Calais in France. This number isn't even taking into account the many private yachts, pleasure craft, tour boats, dredgers, other small working vessels and small commercial and private fishing boats that also clog up it's waters on both sides of it's shores on a daily basis.
The channel also links the two countries of France and England by way of the thirty one mile long Channel Tunnel, situated between the English town of Folkestone in Kent and the French town of Coquelles at Pas - de - Calais. The tunnel carries seventeen trains a day, ferrying even more passengers and freight under this busy waterway.
The channel is also served by the four British shipping areas of Plymouth, Portland, Wight and Dover.
Major bodies of water which flow into the channel include the Rivers Seine, Somme and Scheldt from France and the Rivers Avon, Dart and Ouse and The Solent - the strait that seperates England from the Isle of Wight - from England.
The coastline of the channel on both sides is a highly populated area with the towns, cities and coastal resorts of Brighton, Bournemouth, Dover, Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Exeter and Weymouth on England's south coast and the towns, cities and coastal resorts of Boulogne, Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Le Havre, St Malo and Roscoff on france's north coast.
The most prominent towns along the channel coast are the naval ports of Southampton and Portsmouth, the holiday resorts of Brighton and Bournemouth and the port towns of Dover and Folkestone in England and the major port towns of Calais, Dunkerque and Le Havre, the resort towns of Cherbourg and Dieppe and the historical towns of Caen, La Touquet and St Malo in France.
Iconic landmarks along both coasts include Cornwall's Saint Michael's Mount, Dorset's Jurassic Coast, Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower and Kent's White Cliffs of Dover in England and the picturesque beaches and fishing villages along the Brittany and Normandy coastline and Calais - the nearest point in Europe to the British Isles - in France.
The channel is also home to the world's third largest natural harbour, the 36 square kilometer Poole Harbour, and the world's second, highest valued, residential land, located on the small peninsular known as Sandbanks, both of which are situated off the Dorset coast in southern England.
The channel's largest island is the Isle of Wight, off England's Hampshire coast, the channel is also home to the island group of the Channel Islands and several small French islands.
The Straits of Dover is home to the Confederation of Cinque Ports, important, historical ports in seafaring towns situated on the narrowest strip of the channel, which were established in 1155, in order to provide ships for services to the King.
Today the confederation holds only a ceremonial significance, although the towns still go by the name of the Cinque Ports - which is Norman for five ports. These five port towns are Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich.
YOU CAN FIND ENGLISH CHANNEL FERRY PORTS AT
Since 1994, the England and France have been linked by way of the Channel Tunnel, a thirty one mile long, two hundred and fifty feet deep, rail tunnel which links the English town of Folkestone in Kent to the French town of Coquelles in Nord Pas - de - Calais. The three tunnel system, which was six years in the building, from 1988 - 1994, takes high speed trains travelling at one hundred and eighty six miles an hour, between the London's rail station at St Pancras International to the Parisienne rail station of Gare Du Nord, a journey time of just two hours and fifteen minutes.
The coastal waters of the channel have been the site of several naval conflicts over the years, including battles between Britain and the Spanish Armada, Britain and France during the Napoleonic wars and Britain and Germany during World War II.Famous invasions of Britain from the English Channel were by the Romans in 55 BC, the Vikings in 851 BC and the Normans in 1066.
Famous historical, naval battles include the Battle of Goodwin Sands in 1652, the Battle of Portland in 1653 and the Battle of La Hougue in 1692.
A more recent battle was fought by two US Confederate war ships, when the USS Kearsarge sunk the USS Alabama at the Battle of Cherbourg in June of 1864.
Famous English Channel World War II exploits have included the early days of the The Battle of Britain in the Summer of 1940 and the Normandy Landings in June 1944, the world's largest amphibious invasion.
Today, the only battles between England and France concerning the English Channel, are the daily battles fought against illegal aliens, drugs and contraband being smuggled into the U.K.
Leisure pursuits across the channel include the annual, Cowes Week, yachting event on the Isle of Wight, attempts at cross channel swimming, boating trips, coastal fishing, continental shopping trips and booze cruises, a trip across to mainland Europe so the British can buy cheap alcohol and tobacco.
Being the site of so much traffic that has run aground, sank or caused oil or toxic spillages, the waters of the channel are considerably polluted, leading to grave concerns by environmentalists. Despite this though, the channel does have some plentiful stocks of fish and shellfish, particularly on it's eastern limits and around the waters of the Channel islands and the Cornish coast ,although seal colonies in the channel are rare, but not unheard of.
The sea bed is also littered with two hundred and sixty seven documented shipwrecks and the strong Atlantic and North Sea tides send large sandbanks careering around the waterway's seabed, making the channel a most challenging stretch of water for shipping, but a haven for deep sea divers. Because of this, the International Maritime Organisation at Dover has a sophisticated, radar controlled, traffic separation system, which carefully monitors not only the traffic, but the movement of sandbanks too, as well as keeping a watchful eye on all the private craft that sail upon it's waters every day.
SOME ENGLISH CHANNEL WEBSITES
Swimming - www.channelswimmingassociation.com
Eurostar - www.eurostar.com
Euro Tunnel - www.eurotunnel.com
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