A strait is a body of water located in such a way that it separates two land areas and connects adjacent water basins (as well as their parts). So, two oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific have a peculiar border in the form of the world's widest strait, which is called the "Drake Passage". Where is it located and what are its dimensions? The widest strait in the world, which acts as a kind of connecting element between the two above-mentioned oceans, is bounded by Tierra del Fuego (archipelago) from the northern part, and from the southern part by the Southern Scottish Islands. The narrowest part of this strait is 820 km, and the widest is 950 km. In depth, the Drake Passage reaches 5249 meters (and this is the greatest point of depth from the surface of the water). In this strait, the widest in the world, is located Cape Horn, which is the extreme point South America from the south side. The current in this body of water, or rather in its northern part, reaches a speed of 4 m/s.

Historical facts the opening of the strait This strait, the widest in the world, is named after the famous navigator Francis Drake, who was also a pirate. However, the fact that this navigator is not the discoverer of this place is rather curious. The Spaniard Francisco Oses (in 1526) managed to swim to the strait and make its discovery. But this discovery of a wonderful navigator and captain went unnoticed. Drake entered the strait fifty-two years later, when he set off on his famous voyage around the world 1577-1580. According to his plans, he had to pass through the Strait of Magellan from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. However, the plans of the navigator went astray, because the ocean "pleased" with a strong storm. As a result, Drake's ship was thrown to the south, where it passed exactly through this strait, later named after Drake. This is how the circumstances developed, because of which the captain managed to make important discovery in geography and pave the newest path for making bright and bold sea voyages.
Weather features Since ancient times, the widest strait in the world was quite adverse conditions weather. Often, incredible storms are observed in this body of water and terrible winds blow, at speeds that sometimes reach 35 m / s. The wind, blowing with great power, creates the highest waves, which can reach a height of at least 15 meters. Many sailors note that being in the waters of this strait is a very dangerous business, but if you manage to swim to the appointed place, you can be proud of your courage, courageous character and courage.
Even in summer, the water temperature is at the same limit - plus 6 degrees. The water does not get warmer. In winter, there is a lot of floating ice in the strait, icebergs can even be seen in summer time. The storms that await sailors in this strait cannot be found in any other water areas of the world's oceans. And seasickness does not bypass even the most avid sailors in this strait. For the sailors who were able to overcome the rather dangerous Drake Strait, the English Queen Elizabeth I even approved peculiar awards - she gave the daredevils a copper earring and granted the right to visit all the restaurants in the world for free. Diversity of birds in the strait
Every sailor who has sailed at least once through the Drake Passage notes how many birds accompany the ship. There are indeed a great many of them in the most different types. The explanation for this is quite simple - the border with Antarctica passes here, and there is a mixing of cold and warm waters. As a result, the waters of the strait are rich in various marine life, which are staples in the diet of petrels, albatrosses, storm petrels, skuas and many other birds living in this part of the world. And if they have food, then they live well and freely here.

Mister Francis Drake, after which the most wide strait in the world, was incredibly lucky. He was a great explorer, a real pirate and adventurer. Drake managed to get a full right to privateering from the hands of Elizabeth herself - the Queen of England, and later he was awarded the honorary title for his service in the name of Britain and became a vice admiral.

How did you discover the widest strait on the planet?

In 1578, Drake's ship was speeding along during a huge storm. The purpose of the journey was however nature had other plans. A stormy hurricane carried the pirate's ship to the open sea, past the place where he was heading, in order to subsequently circumnavigate the world. Although in fact this trip was an aggressive raid on the Spanish colonies on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Great ones are often made involuntarily, mainly in search of countless treasures, precious metals and stones, as well as slave power and overseas delicacies. It was in this way that the widest intercontinental strait was discovered, named after the titled pirate.

Only one ship out of six managed to stay afloat, and the surviving ship with the name "Pelican" was carried by the current in a southerly direction straight into the Pacific Ocean. On the occasion of the rescue, Drake changed the ship's name to the Golden Hind, and it arrived safely after a robbery and looting on the Pacific coast, loaded with treasure.

Drake Passage: a brief description

The strait connects the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and on all geographical maps called the Drake Passage. It reaches a width of 820 km (and this is at its narrowest point), in some places a distance of 1120 km is noted. Compared to the width, the length of the strait looks a little more modest and is 460 km. The depth ranges from 276 to 5250 meters.

The boundary of the strait conditionally runs from Cape Horn, which is related to and to Snezhny Island (South Shetland Islands), belonging to Antarctica. The proximity to this cold mainland affects the climatic features. Even in summer, the water temperature does not rise above 6°C, although in winter it is about 3°C. This means that the widest strait remains navigable for a whole year, since it freezes through no more than 25%.

Drake Passage: Customs and Traditions

Some traditions and customs among seafarers are associated with and Horn Island. The most popular of them is the order of the English Queen, according to which, after the first successful overcoming of this route, the sailors were supposed to have an earring made of copper, after the second - of silver, and if the strait was conquered three times, then a gold earring already flaunted in the navigator's ear. Along with the many privileges that gave them the right to free drinks, they also began to be called "sea wolves", which was considered quite prestigious at that time.

Since then, this water barrier has been overcome more than a dozen times. For example, famous traveler from Russia, Fedor Konyukhov successfully crossed this dangerous area as many as 6 times, the last of which he made in 2010. Following ancient customs, he would have been entitled to 2 gold earrings and an honorary title for this.

Tricky water barrier

During the Great Discoveries, ships on their way from the Pacific to the Atlantic had to repeatedly cross the widest strait in the world. At the same time, sailors always took a justified risk, since this insidious water barrier was not tough for everyone. To this day, sailing along the strait is estimated as the conquest of Mount Chomolungma.

The widest strait of the planet is considered very dangerous and difficult to pass. Huge icebergs, whirlpools are often encountered on the way, sometimes there are unprecedented storms with waves up to 15 meters, and the incident wind reaches 35 meters per second in places. Difficulties in the passage of the strait are also due to the strong current.

Although the Drake Passage is the widest strait, it is the narrowest point in the Southern Ocean. Since 1993, regular surveys and measurements have been carried out, since this boundary between two vast oceans is the most important site for hydrological studies of the Antarctic circumpolar current.

Any person who is interested in the sea and maritime topics must have heard about Francis Drake, an English navigator and pirate… The strait named after him connects the southern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the north, the strait is bounded by the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and in the south by the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). It is the widest named strait on Earth - about 820 kilometers in its narrowest part.

A powerful “Current of the West Winds” passes through the strait - the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Severe storms are frequent in the strait, and Drake Passage storms are among the strongest on the planet - winds of more than 35 m / s and waves above 15 meters are not uncommon here. Icebergs are found in the Drake Passage, mainly in its southern part.

The strait contains the southernmost point of the South American mainland and the American continent - the Diego Ramirez Islands, as well as the legendary Cape Horn. Why is the strait named after Francis Drake? So he opened it and passed through this strait in 1578 on his ship "Golden Doe".
And it was over 400 years ago.

The maritime tradition of allowing a gold earring to be worn in the ear by those who have passed through the Drake Passage dates back to the 17th century. By order of Queen Victoria, who had heard about severe storms in the area of ​​​​Cape Horn, often arising from the collision of several cyclones at once, English sailors who passed through the strait were allowed to drink a glass of whiskey in the taverns of English ports at the expense of Her Majesty. The golden earring became a confirmation of this right.

It all started as a tradition in the English Navy. But gradually it became a reward. talking modern language, an earring in the sailors' ear is an international award from the British Admiralty for the passage of a sailing ship through the Drake Strait.

There are many beautiful legends about the golden earring in the ear. The right to wear it is attributed to sailors passing through the Drake Passage, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, crossing the equator, circumnavigating the world and others. All this exists at the level of legends, but there really was such a fashion among the sailors of the sailing fleet, and the gold earring rather emphasized the luck and wealth of the sailor, and served more as an amulet. Not everyone could afford a gold earring; sailors often wore silver or copper earrings.
It has always been considered especially honorable to cross the equator at the point of origin of latitude and longitude - at zero degrees, that is, at the point that sailors call the "center of the Earth" or the "golden point". In the era of the sailing fleet, sailors who crossed the equator in this place received the right to wear a gold earring in their left ear and sit in the port taverns with their feet on the table. If the sailor had to go around Cape Horn more than once, then the "Council of Old Sea Wolves" awarded him a special diploma and an earring, on which Cape Horn and the constellation of the Southern Cross were depicted. Such a sailor had the right ... to paint the nail on the little finger of his left hand, which caused envy among sailors who did not have these "privileges".
The profession of a sailor was dangerous, they often died in the ocean, and their dead bodies sometimes washed ashore. The one who found the corpse buried it and took the earring. Like funeral fees.

There is a sign - if a man has an earring in his ear, then he will not drown. For pirates, this meant a captured ship and served as a kind of table of ranks, if you participated in the boarding team more than ten times, then the earring was of medium size, and if you commanded, then the largest, it goes without saying that only the captain wore it, the second after god on a sailboat!!!
As the ancient Greeks said - there are living people, there are dead people, and there are those who go to the sea ...

Bosphorus

"I have never been to the Bosporus ...". Many probably remember these lines from S. Yesenin's poem. If you have not been either, we will try to briefly talk about the narrowest strait between the continents. This strait connects the Black and Marmara Seas and is part of the border between Europe and Asia. It got its name from the ancient Greeks, who called it "Cow Ford".

Despite its small length, the strait is very inconvenient for navigation. Throughout its 30 km length, it has about twelve sharp turns, which forces ships to change their course. And Kanlik's turn is located so that oncoming ships do not see each other.

Strait width

In addition, there are powerful and fast currents and whirlpools in the strait. The minimum width of the strait is 700 m, the maximum is 3700 m, the depth of the navigable part is from 33 to 80 m. Considering that the strait is the only water artery connecting the countries of the Black Sea basin with the countries of the Mediterranean, the intensity of navigation is very high. Up to 45,000 ships pass through the Bosphorus a year.

On both banks of the Bosphorus is the city of Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople. This is probably the only city in the world that is located on two continents. Therefore, for the transport connection of the Asian and European parts cities, ferries have long been used. And now about 1,500 ferries run daily, carrying an average of up to 1.5 million people.

Bridges over the Bosphorus

To meet the growing demand for connecting both parts of the city, and to unload the strait from ferries, two bridges were built. The first was put into operation in 1973 and is called the "Bosphorus Bridge" with a length of 1074 meters. The second, built in 1988 and called the "Bridge of Sultan Mehmed Fatih", its length is 1090 meters. The Turkish government plans to build another road bridge from the Black Sea, the length of which will be 1275 meters.

However, it is worth noting that the Bosphorus Strait is the narrowest between the continents, and also the shortest strait on Earth.

Strait of the Little Belt

by the very Small Belt is recognized as the narrowest strait on Earth. This strait is located between the islands of Funen and Ærö in the east and the island of Als and the Jutland peninsula in the west. Connects the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat.

The length of the Small Belt is 50 kilometers, the width varies from 500 meters to 28 kilometers, and the smallest depth in the fairway is 12 meters and the maximum is 75 meters.

Dofuti Strait

In addition to the Small Belt, for the right to be called the narrowest strait on Earth, competes Dofuti Strait separating the Japanese islands of Sodo and Mae. This strait is considered the narrowest of all the navigable straits of the Earth. Indeed, in the place where the two islands are connected by a bridge, the width of the strait is only 9.93 m.

A strait is a narrow body of water that separates two areas of land, which connects adjacent bodies of water or parts of them. In this article, we will look at the largest straits of the world, their features and characteristics.

The longest

It is considered the longest on the planet. It separates the island of Madagascar from the African continent. Its length reaches 1760 km. The minimum width is 422 km and the maximum width is 925 km. The dimensions of the longest strait in the world are impressive. No less impressive is its maximum depth - 3292 m.

The archipelago, located in the northern part of the strait, combines a group of islands that are the territory of an independent state, which is called the Union of the Comoros.

The fauna is typical for the tropical region. In the waters of the strait are found:

  • numerous species of commercial fish: anchovies, horse mackerel, tuna, mackerel and others;
  • sea ​​stingrays;
  • marine sizes;
  • sharks;
  • coelacanths - fish that were once considered extinct;
  • crustaceans: shrimps, lobsters;
  • sea ​​snakes and many other underwater inhabitants.

The widest in the world

The Drake Strait has rightfully earned the title of the widest. It is a link between two oceans: the Pacific and the Atlantic. The minimum width of the strait is 820 km, and the maximum reaches 1120 km. The length is much less and is 460 km. Max Depth within 5250 m. This widest strait of the world separates Tierra del Fuego and the southernmost continent - Antarctica. Its waters wash the coast of countries such as Chile and Argentina.

Not only the widest, but also the deepest in the world. The weather conditions in this region are quite severe. There are frequent storms here. This strait has always been one of the most difficult tests for navigation. Approximately a quarter of the reservoir is covered with ice, which lasts from April to November. In the summer season, in the waters of the strait, you can find a huge number of icebergs that, drifting, reach the shores of the South American continent.

List of largest straits

Geography lovers will be interested to know the names of the straits of the world, whose length exceeds 500 km. As mentioned above, the Drake Passage is the widest, and the Mozambique Passage is the longest. Now let's look at others.

The narrowest

Of all the straits in the world, the Little Belt is considered the narrowest. Its length is 125 km, and its width varies between 0.5-28 km. The maximum depth of the fairway is 75 m, and the minimum is 12. The Small Belt connects the Baltic Sea with each other. In winter, in areas with a weak current, the reservoir freezes.

The most shallow

The Kerch Strait, which separates the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas, is the shallowest in the world. Its length is 41 km, and its width varies between 4-45 km. The maximum depth does not exceed 18 m, and the minimum is 5 m. Despite the fact that this is the shallowest strait in the world, there are several large ports on its coasts:

  • Kamysh-Burun;
  • Crimea;
  • Caucasus;
  • Kerch trade.

This strait connects the Black and Azov seas.

Most forced strait

The English Channel separates two European states: France and Great Britain. It is the link between Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The length of the English Channel is 578 km. In the narrowest part, its width is 32 km, and in the widest - about 250 km. More than four thousand people tried to conquer the strait, but about one thousand people managed to swim across it. No other strait in the world has been crossed as often as the English Channel.

Naturally, swimmers choose the narrowest part of the reservoir - the Pas de Calais, where the width does not exceed 32 km. Crossing the strait is quite difficult, since even in summer the water temperature does not exceed 18 °C. Of great difficulty are the currents that are formed during the tides, as well as strong winds and waves.

In 2012, the Australian Trent Grimsey set the record for the longest swim. He swam the English Channel in 6 hours and 55 minutes. Among women, the record belongs to Ivetta Glavachova, a swimmer from the Czech Republic. She covered the distance in 7 hours 25 minutes and 15 seconds. Her record was set in 2006.

Our planet never ceases to amaze, every corner of it is unique and beautiful. Straits, seas and oceans are all single links of one chain called the World Ocean, without which life on Earth would be impossible.