O English Channel it is an arm of the North Atlantic that separates the island from Great Britain from continental Europe and is situated between England and France. Crossing the English Channel can be done by boat, ferry, swimming or through the Eurotunnel. The Eurotunnel is close to the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the Channel, and extends 37.9 kilometers under the English Channel, connecting the English and French territories.
An important sea route in Europe and the stage for several events throughout the continent's history, the Canal da Mancha can be dangerous due to the strong tides and intense cloud cover in some periods of the year. year.
Read too: Panama Canal — the artificial waterway that connects the Oatlantic ocean and pacific ocean
Overview of the English Channel
The English Channel is an arm of the Oatlantic ocean located between the island of Great Britain and mainland Europe.
The narrowest point in the English Channel is the Strait of Dover, which is 34 km long.
There is a 37.9 km long tunnel under the ocean in the English Channel, which connects England to France, called the Eurotunnel.
Crossing the English Channel can be done through the tunnel, by ferry or swimming, as a sport.
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants cross the English Channel in small boats.
Strong tides, waves and intense cloud cover are some of the dangers of the English Channel.
The English Channel is very important for the economy and tourism in the region, being one of the main trade routes in Europe.
Features of the English Channel
The English Channel is a arm of OAtlantic ocean that separates the island of Great Britain fromThe mainland europe, located more precisely between the south of England and the northwest of France.
It has approximately 560 kilometers long, with a width of 240 kilometers in its widest section and approximately 34 kilometers in its narrowest section. This smaller region is known as the Strait of Dover and connects the English Channel to the North Sea.
Compared to the other Atlantic seas that bathe the European continent, the English Channel is one of the shallowest. Your depth varies between 45 and 174 meters, with a rather rough floor near the coast (English and French) and essentially flat in other areas. It is estimated that the geological structure that sustains the English Channel originated 400 million years ago.
In the English Channel region there are climate predominance temperate oceanic, with mild summers and cold winters. Surface temperatures vary on average between 7 and 16 °C. Rainfall is more abundant in the warmer months and can accumulate up to 1,000 mm per year. During the period that extends from October to April, the weather over the English Channel becomes more humid and cloudy, which impairs visibility in the area. In addition, there is the incidence of strong winds.
English Channel Tunnel
There is an underwater tunnel in the English Channel that connects England and France and is called Eurotunnel. The Eurotunnel is located near the Strait of Dover, as shown, and connects the British town of Folkestone to the French commune of Coquelles, in the region known as Pas-de-Calais.
The Channel Tunnel, or Channel Tunnel as it is also called, it has 50.5 kilometers in total, of which 37.9 kilometers are located under the ocean. Therefore, it receives the title of the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Its deepest point is located 75 meters deep in the ocean substrate.
Construction of the Eurotunnel began in 1988 and was completed five years later.. In 1994, the opening of the road took place, carried out by the French president and the Queen of England at the time, Elizabeth II. After almost 25 years in operation, it is estimated that 80 million vehicles have already crossed the English Channel through the Eurotunnel.
How important is the English Channel?
The English Channel has great economic, historical and scientific importance. The English Channel is an important trade route in Europe, as it has been for many centuries. The economic aspect of the Channel also extends to tourism and fishing, given that the temperatures found in the waters of the region are favorable for obtaining species of great commercial value, such as herring, sardines, mullet and Atlantic cod.
In the historical past, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover served as a physical barrier to Great Britain, mainly, and also as a gateway to both British territories and Europe continental. The English Channel was also used extensively during the Second World War (1939-1945), as was the case with the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
The importance of the English Channel is also scientific. Many studies were and are developed by numerous areas of knowledge. In addition to history, the geology of the English Channel and the behavior of the North Atlantic waters in this region are other highly relevant topics addressed in the research.
Crossing the English Channel
Every day, more than 500 vessels cross the English Channel, which can be characterized as heavy traffic. In addition to the ships and boats that travel along this stretch of the North Atlantic, travel between England and Europe mainland can be done by means of ferries, which take, on average, one hour and 30 minutes to cross the Canal da Spot.
The Eurotunnel is another route used to cross the English Channel., made by private vehicle or by high-speed train known as Eurostar. The journey takes around 35 minutes and is the fastest way to cross the English Channel.
![Vehicle crossing the English Channel through the Eurotunnel. [2]](/f/6573f43882e45b47be3fb81ac4c41884.jpg)
Many long-distance swimmers see crossing the Channel as a sport, more precisely an aquatic ultramarathon. In this case, athletes swim across the Strait of Dover and tend to complete the course in a period of time ranging from 12 to 16 hours.
It is important to highlight that many immigrants cross the English Channel, most towards the United Kingdom. Transportation is done by small fishing boats and other smaller vessels that end up traveling overcrowded, which makes the journey even more dangerous. In 2022, more than 45,000 people from different parts of continental Europe made the crossing in search of better living conditions, a number that was almost twice the number registered in 2021.
See too: Suez Canal — the artificial route that allows maritime communication between the mRed air and the Mediterranean Sea
Why is the English Channel dangerous?
The English Channel can be dangerous due to two natural phenomena recurrent in coastal areas.
The first one is the occurrence of tides (up and down movement of the water in relation to the coast), which can generate very strong waves and currents and endanger vessels and those who cross their waters in other ways. The English Channel is famous for having some of the strongest and most complex tides on the European continent, generating, in addition to currents, strong currents and turbulence in the waters.
The region's climate leads to fog formation over the waters of the English Channel at a certain time of the year. This natural phenomenon causes the loss of visibility in the areas where it occurs and poses a great challenge and risk for boat drivers.
Facts about the English Channel
The idea of a tunnel under the English Channel, which would connect England to France, emerged in the 19th century, more precisely in 1802.
Around 13,000 workers were responsible for building the Eurotunnel.
British swimmer Matthew Webb was the first person to swim across the English Channel. The feat was accomplished in 1875, and the crossing took 22 hours.
There are many islands in the English Channel. The main ones are the Channel Islands, off the coast of France, and the Isle of Wight, which is separated from England by the Solent Strait.
In the subsurface, temperatures suffer more variation (relative to the surface) to the west, where they can reach 5 °C.
There was an anticline (a fold, like a mountain range) connecting Great Britain to mainland Europe. This formation held a lot of water in the region where the North Sea is today. However, between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago, two great floods accelerated the erosion process in the region and carved out a huge valley. In the last glaciation, 10,000 years ago, one last land connection in the Strait of Dover was destroyed, forming the English Channel as we know it today.
image credit
[1] Weyoune / Mortadelo2005 / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[2] Goldsithney / Shutterstock
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/canal-da-mancha.htm