Strait
A strait , even Strait (short street ) or channel , regional and Sund or Belt called, is a place of sea , two land masses come to the close and thus form a bottleneck of the sea. Straits are (and were especially in the past) of great strategic importance for shipping . The counterpart is the isthmus (Isthmus).
Political importance
Straits were coveted areas in ancient times due to their strategic importance. Their control could confer considerable power, so they were often the object of political interference.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea ensures that ships and aircraft have the right of unhindered transit through straits. However, in a strait that is formed by an island of a strait bordering state and its mainland, this right does not apply if there is a seaway through the high seas that is equally suitable from a navigational and hydrographic point of view or an exclusive economic zone is available seaward of the island.
Examples of straits
The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles have been particularly hotly contested throughout history. It is believed that the Trojan War was not ultimately waged to end Troy's control of the Dardanelles. During the Candia War (around Crete) in the 17th century , the Venetians purposefully blocked the Dardanelles in order to worsen the supply situation in the Ottoman Empire , especially in Istanbul . The question of control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles contributed to the binding of the Ottoman Empire to the Central Powers in 1914 , with the help of which the Turks were able to successfully defend the Straits against the Entente in the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915/1916 in the First World War , before the Ottoman Empire finally collapsed in 1918.
In order to bring the Strait of Gibraltar and thus the sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean under control, Great Britain conquered Gibraltar together with the Dutch in 1704 and made the rock and city a British crown colony in 1830 . It became even more important with the opening of the Suez Canal , as it also secured the sea route to the British colony of India .
Other straits:
-
North Sea - Atlantic
- English Channel with The Solent and the Dover Strait between Great Britain and France
-
Baltic Sea including Kattegat
- Oresund between Zealand and the Swedish Skåne
- Great Belt between the Danish islands of Funen and Zealand
- Little Belt between Funen and Jutland
- Alsensund between Alsen Island and Sundewitt Peninsula
- Fehmarnbelt between Fehmarn and Lolland
- Fehmarnsund between Fehmarn and mainland Germany ( Wagrien )
- Strelasund between Stralsund and Rügen
- Atlantic - European Arctic Ocean
- Suðuroyarfjørður between Suðuroy and the rest of the Faroe Islands
- Atlantic
- Long Island Sound between Long Island and the New England coast
- Sea of Azov - Black Sea
- Black Sea - Sea of Marmara
- Sea of Marmara - Aegean Sea
-
Tyrrhenian Sea - Ionian Sea
- Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia
- Strait of Messina between Calabria and Sicily
- Strait of Sicily between Sicily and Tunisia
-
Adriatic Sea - Ionian Sea
- Strait of Otranto between Apulia and Albania
-
Aegean
- Euripos Canal between Evia and Attica (narrowest strait in the world, 40 m)
-
Arabian Sea - Persian Gulf
- Strait of Hormuz between Persia and Oman
-
Red Sea
- Bab al-Mandab - connection to the Gulf of Aden
-
Indian Ocean - Pacific Ocean
- Strait of Malacca between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula
- Strait of Johor between the Malay Peninsula and Singapore
- Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java
- Lombok Road between Bali and Lombok
- Torres Strait between New Guinea and Northern Australia
- Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania
- Palk road between Tamil Nadu ( India ) and Sri Lanka
-
Sea of Japan - Pacific Ocean
- Tatarensund between Sakhalin and Amur region
- La Pérouse Street between Sakhalin and Hokkaidō
- Tsugarus Road between Hokkaidō and Honshū
- Seto Inland Sea between Honshū , Shikoku and Kyūshū
- Korea Road between Kyūshū and Korea
-
Coral Sea (Pacific Ocean)
- Great Sandy Strait between Australia and Fraser Island
- Pacific Ocean - around Vancouver Island ( Canada )
- Pacific Ocean - San Francisco Bay
- Golden Gate north of San Francisco
-
Atlantic Ocean - Pacific Ocean
- Strait of Magellan between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
-
Pacific Ocean - Arctic Ocean
- Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia
- Atlantic-Arctic Ocean:
- Davis Strait between Canada and Greenland ; it connects the Labrador Sea with Baffin Bay
- Strait of Nares between Greenland and Ellesmere Island ; it connects Baffin Bay with Lincolnsee and is also called Kennedy or Robeson Canal in the following.
- Laptev Sea - East Siberian Sea :
See also
literature
- Heinz Fischer: Meerengen: a comparative study , in: Geographica Helvetica , 18 (1963), pp. 212–222 ( digitized version )