A strait is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or because it contains an unnavigable reef or archipelago. The terms strait, channel, passage, sound, and firth can be synonymous and interchangeable, although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. Many straits are economically important. Straits can lie on important shipping routes, and wars have been fought for control of these straits. Numerous artificial channels, called canals, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land. Although rivers and canals often form a bridge between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal definition of straits, they are not usually referred to as straits. Straits are typically much larger, wider structures that do not have water running in a single direction, and normally connect two seas. Straits are the duals of isthmi. That is, while straits lie between two land masses and connect two larger bodies of water, isthmi lie between two bodies of water and connect two larger land masses. A strait is similar to an inlet although inlets typically pass through island land masses usually from a large body of water such as an ocean to a much smaller body such as a bay while straits pass through much larger land masses and connect much larger bodies of water such as seas and oceans.
Well-known straits
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For more details on this topic, see list of straits.
Well-known straits in the world include:
- Palk strait, between India and Sri Lanka, the location of Ram Sethu and rich in natural resources
- Strait of Dover, between England and France, which connects the North Sea with the English Channel
- Strait of Gibraltar, the only natural passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
- Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which connect the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
- Strait of Magellan, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans north of Tierra del Fuego
- Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia, which connects the Pacific and Arctic Oceans
- Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, through which Persian Gulf petroleum is shipped to the world
- Strait of Malacca, which lies between Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, and connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. (It is one of the highest-volume shipping lanes in the world.)
- Bass Strait, which lies between mainland Australia and Tasmania, and connects the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.
