Major Straits of the World

Strait

Strait: A strait is a thin channel of waterways i.e. narrow passage of water that connects two seas or two other large areas of water.

The following are the main characteristics of a strait:

• Formed by natural processes
• Narrower than the seas it connects
• Navigable

Straits of the world are used by commercial shipping to travel from one sea or exclusive economic zone to another and they are of immense strategic and commercial importance. Straits serve as a channel through which ocean currents pass, modifying the climate of that area.

Gulf	Strait
The gulf is a sea portion that penetrates within the land.	Straits are narrow watersheds that act as a connector between two huge water bodies.
It connects both land and sea.	It is a connector of water bodies only.
The gulf is usually formed naturally.	It is majorly man-made, like canals.
The gulf is very helpful for harbouring ships.	They are very small and cannot be used for harbouring purposes.
Sometimes, it is also considered a large bay.	They are very narrow and are used as canals.
eg: Gulf of Mannar, Persian gulf	eg: Hormuz straits, Malacca strait

Major Straits of the World

1. Malacca Strait

• Location: Indonesia –Malaysia
• It connects the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean)
• It is the longest strait in the world, measuring roughly 800 kilometres, and it not only makes it easier for locals to travel about, but it also serves as a hub for trade, culture, ideas, and information between East and West.
• The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Maritime, making it the shortest sea route between China and India and one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
• The importance of this region has grown as a result of the worldwide shift in economic power from the West to the East as well as booming commerce, investments, and production in areas spanning the Indian and Pacific Ocean basins.

2. Palk Strait      

• Join: Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal
• Location: India-Sri Lanka

3. Sunda Strait   

• Join: Java Sea & Indian Ocean
• Location: Indonesia

4. Yucatan Strait

• Join: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
• Location: Mexico-Cuba

5. Mesina Strait  

• Join: Mediterranean Sea
• Location: Italy-Sicily

6. Otranto Strait

• Join: Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea
• Location: Italy-Albania

7. Bab-el-Mandeb Strait        

• Join: Red Sea & Gulf of Aden
• Location: Yemen-Djibouti

8. Cook Strait     

• Join: South Pacific Ocean
• Location:  New Zealand (North & South Islands)

9. Mozambique Strait  

• Join: Indian Ocean
• Location: Mozambique -Madagascar

10. North Channel

• Join: Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean
• Location: Ireland-England

11. Taurus Strait (Torres Strait)

• Join: Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua
• Location: Papua New Guinea — Australia

12. Bass Strait

• Join: Tasman Sea & South Sea
• Location: Australia

13. Bering Strait

• Join: Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea
• Location: Alaska-Russia

14. Bonne-Fasio Strait

• Join: Mediterranean Sea
• Location: Corsika — Sardinia

15. Bosporous Strait   

• Join: Black Sea and Marmara Sea
• Location: Turkey

16. Dardanelles Strait  

• Join: Marmara Sea and Agean Sea
• Location: Turkey

17. Davis Strait  

• Join: Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean
• Location: Greenland-Canada

18. Denmark Strait     

• Join: North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean
• Location: Greenland-Iceland

19. Dover strait  

• Join: English Channel & North Sea
• Location: England-France
• Strait of Dover or Dover Strait is the narrowest part of the English Channel

20. Florida Strait

• Join: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean
• Location: USA-Cuba

21. Hormuz Strait       

• Join: Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman
• Location: Oman-Iran

22. Hudson strait         

• Join: Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean
• Location: Canada

23. Gibraltar Strait      

• Join: Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean
• Location: Spain-Morocco

• The Strait of Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
• The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa.
• The two continents are separated by 14.3 kilometers of the ocean at the Strait’s narrowest point.
• The Spanish side of the Strait is protected under El Estrecho Natural Park.
• On the northern side of the Strait are Spain and Gibraltar(a British overseas territory in the Iberian Peninsula); while on the southern side are Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish autonomous city in northern Africa).
• Due to its location, the Strait is commonly used for illegal immigration from Africa to Europe.

• The Iberian Peninsula: The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme south-west of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar. At the nearest point, it is only 5 miles (8km) from the continent of Africa.

24. Magellan strait       

• Join: Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean
• Location: Chile

25. Makkassar Strait   

• Join: Java Sea & Celebeze Sea
• Location: Indonesia

26. Tsugaru Strait     

• Join: Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean
• Location: Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu Island)

27. Tatar Strait  

• Join: Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea
• Location: Russia (East Russia-Sakhalin Islands)

28. Foveaux Strait 

• Join: South Pacific Ocean
• Location: New Zealand (South Island- Stewart Island)

29. Taiwan Strait (Formosa Strait)      

• Join: South China Sea & East China Sea
• Location: China-Taiwan

Bohai Strait

• The Bohai Sea is connected to the Yellow Sea via the Bohai Strait.
• The Bohai Sea is a marginal sea which is the north-western extension of the Yellow Sea.

30. Korea Strait

• Join: East China Sea and Sea of Japan
• Location: Japan and South Korea

31. Jamaica Channel

• Join: The Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic
• Location: Jamaica and Hispaniola

32. Ten Degree Channel

• Join: The Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal
• Location: Car Nicobar Islands and Little Andaman

33. English Channel

• The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France and links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.
• It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

34. Kerch Strait

• The Kerch Strait is a strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. 
• It separates the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. 

35. Straits of Lombok

• Join: Java Sea & Indian Ocean
• Location: Indonesia (Bali and Lombok)

36. Bali strait

• Join: Bali Sea & Indian Ocean
• Location: Indonesia (Bali and Java)

Isthmus: A narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land. The Isthmus of Panama is a narrow strip of land at the southernmost end of Central America. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea while linking North and South America.

10 Important strategic Straits and Channels

• Strait of Gibraltar
• Bab-El Mendeb Strait
• Strait of Hormuz
• Strait of Malacca
• Bosporus Strait
• Bering Strait
• Strait of Magellan
• Strait of Messina
• Suez Canal
• Panama Canal