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Bering Strait

(Encyclopedia)Bering Strait, c.55 mi (90 km) wide, between extreme NE Asia and extreme NW North America, connecting the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea. It is usually completely frozen over from October to June. Th...

Bering, Vitus Jonassen

(Encyclopedia)Bering, Vitus Jonassen vēˈto͝os yōˈnäsən bārˈĭng [key], 1681–1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men...

Bering Sea

(Encyclopedia)Bering Sea, c.878,000 sq mi (2,274,020 sq km), northward extension of the Pacific Ocean between Siberia and Alaska. It is screened from the Pacific proper by the Aleutian Islands. The Bering Strait co...

Bering Island

(Encyclopedia)Bering Island bērˈĭng, bârˈ– [key], Rus. Beringa, largest of the Komandorski Islands, c.55 mi (90 km) long and up to c.15 mi (20 km) wide, off Kamchatka peninsula, E Russian Far East, in the Be...

Torres Strait

(Encyclopedia)Torres Strait tŏrˈĭz, –rĭs [key], channel, c.95 mi (153 km) wide, between New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula of Australia. It connects the Arafura and Coral seas. The strait is shallow, with man...

Bass Strait

(Encyclopedia)Bass Strait băs [key], channel, 80 to 150 mi (129–241 km) wide, between Tasmania and Victoria, SE Australia, connecting the Indian Ocean and Tasman Sea; Port Phillip Bay and Melbourne are on the no...

Kerch Strait

(Encyclopedia)Kerch Strait, shallow channel, c.25 mi (40 km) long, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea and separating Crimea in the west from Russia's Taman Peninsula in the east. Its northern end, openin...

Menai Strait

(Encyclopedia)Menai Strait mĕnˈī [key], channel of the Irish Sea, 14 mi (23 km) long and from 200 yd (183 m) to 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, between the island of Anglesey and mainland Gwynedd, NW Wales. Thomas Telford's...

Johore Strait

(Encyclopedia)Johore Strait, arm of the Singapore Strait, c.40 mi (60 km) long and from 1 to 3 mi (1.6–4.8 km) wide, between Singapore Island and the Malay Peninsula. The eastern part of the strait has a deep cha...

Palk Strait

(Encyclopedia)Palk Strait pôk, pôlk [key], 40 to 85 mi (64–137 km) wide, between India and Sri Lanka. At its southern end, it is studded with shoal reefs, forming Adam's Bridge (or Rama's Bridge), and by small ...