The widest strait on the map. The widest strait in the world. How the widest strait on the planet was discovered

The widest strait in the world is the Drake Passage. It connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
General information. The Drake Passage is located between the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the north and the South Shetland Islands in the south. The width of the strait at its narrowest point is about 820 kilometers, while at its widest part it is up to 950 kilometers. The depth of the strait reaches 5249 meters. The southernmost point of the continent of South America, namely the famous Cape Horn, is located in the strait. The current speed in the northern section of the strait reaches 4 meters per second.
Weather. The Drake Passage has long been famous for its harsh, unfavorable weather conditions. Strong storms are frequent here, with very high wind speeds (up to 35 meters per second) and high waves. The water temperature, even in summer, practically does not rise above 6°C. In winter, a significant part of the strait is covered with floating ice, but in summer icebergs are often found in the strait. Due to extremely difficult weather conditions, Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered that all sailors who passed the Drake Passage be awarded a copper earring and were given the right to visit all pubs and restaurants in the world for free.
History of discovery. The strait bears its name in honor of the famous navigator and pirate Francis Drake. It is curious that Drake is not the discoverer of the strait. Back in 1526, the strait was discovered by the Spanish captain Francisco Oses. However, then this discovery went unnoticed. Only 52 years later, in 1578, Francis Drake passed through the strait during his circumnavigation of 1577 - 1580. It is known that Drake's plans included going to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic through the Strait of Magellan. The implementation of the plans of the famous pirate was prevented by a powerful storm. Drake's ship "Golden Hind" was carried to the south and fell into the strait, which later received the name of the captain. Thus, thanks to a fortuitous coincidence, a major geographical discovery was made, and the way was paved for new travels.

Photo of the widest strait in the world

Straits are water bridges that connect neighboring bodies of water and, conversely, separate individual land areas. Canals created by human hands can also formally be classified as straits, but the goal there is always to connect reservoirs, to supply water somewhere, but not to divide the land (this is the responsibility of defensive ditches filled with water). The straits are of utmost importance for maritime navigation, both peaceful and military. Thanks to them, ships can significantly shorten their routes, but only if these straits are suitable for navigation, and not too shallow, narrow or filled with dangerous reefs.

1. Small Belt (500 m)

The Little Belt, which separates the islands of Ørø and Funen in the east from the Jutland peninsula and the island of Als in the west, fits the title of “the narrowest strait in the world.” The Baltic Sea is connected through it to the Kattegat Strait. The Little Belt stretches for 125 kilometers, varying in width from 500 meters to 28 kilometers, its fairway has a maximum depth of 75 m, and a minimum depth of 12 m. In particularly severe winters, in places where there are no strong currents, it freezes.
A couple of road bridges are thrown across it: an old and a new one, along which the international route from Hamburg through Copenhagen to Stockholm is laid, as well as a railway bridge in the same direction. The new bridge is heated in winter to prevent it from icing up. The Celtic word "belt" means "sea" or "water". Two more straits bear this name, like the Sound Strait connecting the Kattegat with the Baltic Sea. In the southern part of the Little Belt there is a fairly deep fairway, 7 km wide, but ships still rarely use it due to the presence of strong currents and difficult navigation along the winding strait. If military vessels of third countries want to pass through this strait, it is necessary to notify the Danish government 8 days in advance.

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2. Matochkin Shar (600 m)

This strait is located between the northern and southern islands of Novaya Zemlya and connects the Kara and Barents seas. This is a fairly shallow strait (12 meters on average, maximum depth 120 m), with several anchorages, the best of which is located near Cape Baraniego. The banks of the strait are high and steep in some places. It is approximately 100 km long. For most of the year, Matochkin Shar is covered with ice, and the rest of the time navigation on it is possible. In the past, the fishing villages of Stolbovoy and Matochkin Shar were located on its shore, but they no longer exist. The word “shar” in Finno-Ugric means “strait”, and these islands are called “uterus” by the Pomors. The strait got its name from the Matochka River, which flows into it.

3. Bosphorus (700 m)

It forms an inseparable pair with the Dardanelles Strait, and together with the Sea of ​​Marmara located between them, they separate Europe from Asia. The Turks call it Istanbul-Bogazi, which means the Strait of Istanbul. This strait connects the Sea of ​​Marmara with the Black Sea and is the only exit from the latter to the Mediterranean Sea (through the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Dardanelles). This is a very busy waterway, with oil tankers, cargo and passenger ships constantly scurrying through it.
In the distant past, on the site of the Bosphorus there was an ancient river valley. Now it is flooded with sea water. There are two countercurrents in the Bosphorus: from below there is a salty one towards the Black Sea, and from above there is a flow of fresher water directed towards the Sea of ​​Marmara. The salty current continues along the depression at the bottom of the Black Sea in the form of a phenomenon called an underwater river. Communication between the European and Asian parts of Turkey is supported by bridges and the Marmaray railway tunnel, built under the Bosphorus.
The Bosphorus is the most important strait for all countries that have ports on the Black Sea coast, since through it they can send their ships to the Mediterranean Sea and further to the Atlantic or Indian Oceans. In the 17th century, the Bosporus was covered with ice several times, as it was the “Little Ice Age”.

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4. Dardanelles (1.3 km)

The Dardanelles Strait, also called Çanakkale, is famous for the fact that it separates the Balkan Peninsula, which belongs to Europe, and the Asia Minor Peninsula, which is the western tip of Asia. It connects the Aegean and Marmara seas. The ancient Greeks called it the Hellespont. It is not surprising that this strait is of great strategic importance, since it allows control of all shipping leading from the Black Sea towards the Mediterranean Sea. The Dardanelles are 65 kilometers long and its width varies from 1.3 kilometers to 6 kilometers.
The Dardanelles Strait, together with the Bosphorus Strait and the small Sea of ​​Marmara, forms a single chain of water space that connects the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas and at the same time is a natural border separating two continents - Europe and Asia, merging to the north of the Black Sea into a single continent of Eurasia. The Turks call it Canakkale Bogazy - after the city located on its Asian shore.

5. Strait of Magellan (2.2 km)

One of the longest navigable straits in the world is the Strait of Magellan, which separates the southern lands of the mainland of South America and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. At the same time, it connects the two largest oceans - the Pacific and the Atlantic. Only the eastern end of the strait belongs to Argentina, while the remaining shores are under the control of Chile.
The Strait of Magellan is very picturesque with its cliffs and glaciers. The famous Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan first walked through it in 1520 during the first trip around the world in human history. It was Magellan who found the place where two oceans meet. It took him more than a month to cross the strait, but he did not lose a single ship in this dangerous place, and for a long time remained the only lucky one who succeeded. In a number of places, the Strait of Magellan has a small width; this is further aggravated by the constant storms and winds in these places, treacherous currents and sharp underwater rocks, which makes navigation through the Strait of Magellan almost Russian roulette.
For a long time, people had to use the unfriendly Strait of Magellan until a much more convenient alternative appeared - the Panama Canal. But even in our time, quite a lot of ships go around South America from the south.

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6. Oresund or Sound (3.4 km)

The Sound or Oresund Strait separates the Danish island of Zealand from the Scandinavian Peninsula (Sweden). It, like other Danish straits, connects the North and Baltic seas. Its length is 70 kilometers, its width ranges from 3.4 to 24 kilometers, and the depth of the fairway is only 8 meters. On the banks of the Sound there are two large cities, Malmo and Copenhagen, which are connected by the Oresund Bridge, which also includes a tunnel.
This strait appeared 8,000 years ago after the retreat of the glacier - the Scandinavian plate, freed from it, began to tilt, sinking in the south and rising in the north. Then water from the North Sea eroded the narrow isthmus near modern Öresund, flooding low-lying areas and forming the Baltic Sea. During the winter period, from October to March, storms occur most often here, but the strongest storms occur in December. In February, the sea here is at its deepest, and its lowest level is observed in January or April.

7. Great Belt (11 km)

To the east of the Great Belt Strait are the islands of Zealand and Lolland, and to the west of it are the islands of Funen and Langeland. Of the three Danish straits connecting the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat, the Great Belt is the largest. Its fairway has a depth of more than 20 meters, which made the strait the most important sea route to the Baltic. The Great Belt is passable even for ocean-going ships, although the last few collisions occurred near the bridge. The Great Belt became an international waterway after the adoption of the Copenhagen Convention in 1857. But its western part, located between the islands of Sprog and Funen, is considered Danish territorial waters and is administered by this state.

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8. Singapore Strait (12 km)

This strait, together with the Strait of Malacca, links the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) and the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean). Its northern border is the southern coast of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore Island, and the southern border is the Riau Archipelago. The Singapore Strait was an important sea route back in the 7th century, and has now become international. It is home to Singapore, one of the 4 largest ports in the world. The main sea route for most ships traveling from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean passes by numerous islands in Southeast Asia, and the Singapore Strait has become one of the most important links on this route.
In historical terms, the Great Sea Route was no less important than, for example, the Great Silk Road from China to Europe. Nowadays, the Singapore Strait has international status, which means that it is open to the unhindered passage of ships from all countries, and the same applies to air routes over it. Due to the very high intensity of shipping, fishing here is only limited and in coastal waters, despite the fact that the local tropical waters are quite rich in marine resources.

9. Strait of Malacca (15 km)

The Strait of Malacca separates the island of Sumatra from the Thai and Malay parts of the Malay Peninsula. It connects the South China Sea, which belongs to the Pacific Ocean, with the Andaman Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean. The port of Singapore is located at the southern end of the strait. The depth of the Strait of Malacca is not too deep, especially closer to Singapore. It was named this way, perhaps in honor of the Malacca Sultanate, which once ruled this region. There is another version - it could have been named after the most important port of Melaka in the 16th-17th centuries, which has now turned into the Malaysian city of Malacca. This is the only sea strait where active deposition of river silt is observed, although this does not harm the intensive shipping that exists here. In recent decades, large oil reserves have been found off the eastern coast of Sumatra, in the waters of the Strait of Malacca itself, and with the beginning of its development, the economic importance of the strait has increased even more.

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10. Shokalsky Strait (19 km)

This strait is located in the Arctic Ocean, where it separates Severnaya Zemlya (Bolshevik Island) from the Island of the October Revolution. It connects the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. It was named after the cartographer and geographer Yuli Shokalsky. The waters in which this strait is located fall under the jurisdiction of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The steep shores of the strait are covered with glaciers (Mushketov, Karpinsky, Universitetsky, Grotov, Semenov-Tien-Shansky), from which icebergs periodically break off. Most of the year the strait is covered with ice.

A strait is a body of water that is located in such a way that it separates two land areas and connects adjacent water basins (as well as their parts). Thus, two oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific - have a peculiar border in the form of the widest strait in the world, which is called the “Drake Passage”.

Where is it located and what are its dimensions?

The world's widest strait, which acts as a kind of connecting element between the two above-mentioned oceans, is limited on the northern part by Tierra del Fuego (archipelago), and on the southern part by the Southern Scottish Islands. The narrowest part of this strait is 820 km, and the widest is 950 km. The Drake Passage reaches a depth of 5249 meters (and this is the greatest point of depth from the surface of the water). The world's widest strait is home to Cape Horn, which is the southernmost point of South America. The current in this body of water, or rather in its northern part, reaches a speed of 4 m/s.

Historical facts of the opening of the strait

This world's widest strait is named after the famous navigator Francis Drake, who was also a pirate. However, it is quite curious that this navigator is not the discoverer of this place. The Spaniard Francisco Oses managed to swim to the strait and make its discovery (in 1526). But this discovery of an excellent navigator and captain went unnoticed.

Drake entered the strait fifty-two years later when he set out on his famous voyage around the world in 1577-1580. According to his plans, he was supposed to pass through the Strait of Magellan from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. However, the navigator’s plans were somewhat disrupted, as the ocean “pleased” with a strong storm. As a result, Drake's ship was thrown to the south, where it passed through this strait, which was later named after Drake. This is how the circumstances arose due to which the captain managed to make an important discovery in geography and pave a new path for making bright and daring sea voyages.

Weather Features

The world's widest strait has long been characterized by rather unfavorable weather conditions. Often in this body of water there are incredible storms and terrible winds blow, the speed of which sometimes reaches 35 m/s. The wind, blowing with enormous 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 matter, but if you manage to swim to the designated place, then 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 is not getting warmer. In winter, there is a lot of floating ice in the strait; icebergs can even be seen in the summer. The storms that await sailors in this strait cannot be found in any other water areas of the world's oceans. And seasickness affects even the most avid sailors in this strait.

For sailors who were able to overcome the rather dangerous Drake Passage, Queen Elizabeth I of England even approved unique rewards - she gave the daredevils a copper earring and granted the right to visit all restaurants in the world completely free of charge.

Diversity of birds in the strait area

Every sailor who has sailed through the Drake Passage at least once notes how many birds accompany the ship. There really are a great variety of them here in a variety of forms. The explanation for this is quite simple - the border with Antarctica passes here, and cold and warm waters mix. As a result, the waters of the strait are rich in various marine life, which are the main products 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, it means they live here well and freely.

Mr. Francis Drake, after whom the widest strait in the world is named, was incredibly lucky. He was a great explorer, a real pirate and adventurer. Drake managed to obtain full privateering rights from the hands of Elizabeth herself, the Queen of England, and later he was awarded an honorary title for his service in the name of Britain and became a vice admiral.

How did you open the widest strait on the planet?

In 1578, Drake's ship raced along during a huge storm. The purpose of the trip was, however, nature had other plans. A hurricane storm carried the pirate's ship into the open sea, past the place where he was heading 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 carried out unwillingly, mainly in search of untold treasures, precious metals and stones, as well as slave labor and overseas delicacies. It was in this way that the widest intercontinental strait was discovered, named after the titular pirate.

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

Drake Passage: brief description

The strait connects the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is called the Drake Passage on all geographical maps. 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 its width, the length of the strait looks a little more modest and amounts to 460 km. The depth ranges from 276 to 5250 meters.

The border of the strait conventionally runs from Cape Horn, which is related to and to Snezhny Island (South Shetland Islands), which is related to Antarctica. The proximity to this cold continent affects the climate. 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 no more than 25%.

Drake Passage: customs and traditions

Some traditions and customs among seafarers are associated with the island of Horn. The most popular of them is considered to be the order of the English queen, according to which, after the first successful passage of this route, the sailors were given a copper earring, after the second - from silver, and if the strait was conquered three times, then a gold earring was already adorned in the sailor’s ear. Along with 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, the famous traveler from Russia Fyodor Konyukhov safely crossed this dangerous section as many as 6 times, the last of which he completed in 2010. Following ancient customs, he would have received 2 gold earrings and an honorary title for this.

Treacherous water barrier

During the Great Discoveries, ships traveling from the Pacific to the Atlantic had to repeatedly navigate the widest strait in the world. At the same time, sailors always took justifiable risks, since not everyone was able to cope with this treacherous water barrier. To this day, sailing along the strait is considered to be like conquering Mount Chomolungma.

The widest strait on the planet is considered very dangerous and difficult to pass. On the way there are often huge icebergs, whirlpools, sometimes unprecedented storms occur with waves of up to 15 meters, and the oncoming wind in some places reaches 35 meters per second. Difficulties in passing the strait are also due to the powerful current.

Although the Drake Passage is the widest strait, it is the narrowest point in the Southern Ocean. Regular surveys and measurements have been taken since 1993, as this boundary between two huge oceans is the most important site for hydrological research on the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

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