Where is the Strait of Dover and why is it an important location?

The Dover Strait or the Strait of Dover is a vital maritime route in the Western European region located at the narrowest part of the English Channel. It is the strait that separates the English Channel and the North Sea, and a boundary between Great Britain and France, or continental Europe.

Is Dover in France?

Dover (/ˈdoʊvər/) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at 33 kilometres (21 mi) from Cap Gris Nez in France.
Dover
DistrictDover
Shire countyKent
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland

Is the Strait of Dover International waters?

Most maritime traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and Baltic Sea passes through the Strait of Dover, rather than taking the longer and more dangerous route around the north of Scotland. The strait is the busiest international seaway in the world, used by over 400 commercial vessels daily.

Why is the Strait of Dover important?

The strait is also particularly important for its biodiversity value, fisheries, landscape value, cultural significance and tourism. The Strait of Dover is rich in designated sites for biodiversity: on the Kent side, Special Areas of Conservation (SAC’s), Special Protection Areas (SPA’s) and Ramsar sites exist.

Which part of England is Dover in?

Kent
Dover, town (parish) and seaport on the Strait of Dover, Dover district, administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England. Situated on the English Channel at the mouth of a valley in the chalk uplands that form the famous white cliffs, Dover is the closest English port to the European mainland.

What do the French call the Strait of Dover?

Pas de Calais
Strait of Dover, French Pas de Calais, Latin Gallicum Fretum, narrow water passage separating England (northwest) from France (southeast) and connecting the English Channel (southwest) with the North Sea (northeast).

What sea is between Dover and Calais?

English Channel
English Channel, also called The Channel, French La Manche, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais).

Can you swim the Strait of Dover?

THE FIRST PERSON to swim across the Strait of Dover without the aid of a flotation device was Captain Matthew Webb, who did it in 21 hours and 45 minutes in 1875. Since then, many more people have repeated his feat. One swimmer, Kevin Murphy, has completed the crossing 34 times.

What’s the distance from Dover to Calais?

It is approximately 27 nautical miles or 31 standard miles from Dover ferry port to Calais ferry port. Although it’s the shortest sailing to France it’s not the shortest point between the two countries. The shortest distance across the English Channel is from South Foreland in Kent to Cap Gris Nez in France.

Is Strait of Dover the English Channel?

The Strait of Dover forms the narrowest part of the English Channel, where a scant 33 kilometers (20 miles) separates Great Britain from the rest of Europe. Because of the narrowness of the channel and its position as the gateway between the North Sea and the open Atlantic, the strait is very busy with ship traffic.

How long is the Strait of Dover?

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station shot this photograph of the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. Over the years, adventurous swimmers have attempted to swim the 35-kilometers (21 miles) from Dover, England, to the French coastline at Cap Gris-Nez.

Do the French call it the English Channel?

la Manche
The English Channel (French: la Manche, “The Sleeve”; German: Ärmelkanal, “Sleeve Channel”; Breton: Mor Breizh, “Sea of Brittany”; Cornish: Mor Bretannek, “British Sea”), also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and links the southern part of the North …

Where can you see France from England?

Can you see France from England? You can see France from England in Dover town in South East England. It is necessary to go to the top of the cliffs of Dover on a clear day. France is on the opposite side of the Cliffs, with the Strait of Dover separating the two countries.

Is France located in UK?

The United Kingdom is located between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and the North Sea in the east, north of the English Channel, and off France’s northern coast. The UK has only one land border, and that is on the island of Ireland.

How far is France from England by boat?

Dover to Calais is the fastest ferry crossing from England to France with a distance of approximately 30 miles between the English and French port. The close proximity makes Dover to Calais a great day trip ferry route for people to visit France.

Why are Dover cliffs white?

When the algae died, their remains sank to the bottom of the ocean and combined with the remains of other creatures to form the chalk that shapes the cliffs today. Over millions of years, the seabed became exposed and is now above sea level. The resulting edge of chalk is the iconic White Cliffs of Dover.

Is there a bridge over the Strait of Dover?

The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles and international freight trains.

Channel Tunnel.
Overview
LocationEnglish Channel (Strait of Dover)
Coordinates51.0125°N 1.5041°ECoordinates:51.0125°N 1.5041°E
StatusActive

Can you swim from England to France?

The English Channel is the stretch of water between England and France. The shortest route to swim across it is 21 miles long, but that can change depending on the current. The Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 600 tankers and 200 ferries passing through it every day!

Are the cliffs of Dover eroding?

The iconic White Cliffs of Dover have been eroding 10 times faster in the last 150 years than they did over the previous 7,000 years, researchers say. The beautiful cliffs that were formed some 90 million years ago are white because of their chalk composition, which is particularly vulnerable to erosion.

Are the cliffs of Dover in Ireland?

The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of 350 feet (110 m), owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposited during the Late Cretaceous.

Who owns the white cliffs of Dover?

The National Trust
The National Trust, a UK based charity protecting historic places and green spaces, owns and manages a 7-kilometer stretch of the White Cliffs of Dover – a magnificent coastal site overlooking the English Channel.

Are the cliffs of Dover receding?

In a report in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a joint U.S.-U.K. research term found that the cliffs are disappearing at a rate of 8 to 12 inches per year, 10 times faster in the last 150 years than they did over the previous 7,000 years.