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Malacca, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Malacca, Strait of məläkˈə [key], c.500 mi (800 km) long and from c.30 to 200 mi (50–320 km) wide, between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Linking the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea, it ...

Malacca

(Encyclopedia)Malacca: see Melaka, Malaysia.

Singapore Strait

(Encyclopedia)Singapore Strait, channel, 30 mi (48 km) long and 10 mi (16.1 km) wide, between Singapore island and the Riau Archipelago, Indonesia. It links the Strait of Malacca with the South China Sea and is a m...

Gibraltar, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Gibraltar, Strait of jĭbrôlˈtər [key], Lat. Fretum Herculeum or Fretum Gaditanum, passage, c.36 mi (58 km) long, connecting the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, between southernmost Spain and north...

Messina, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Messina, Strait of, channel, c.20 mi (32 km) long and from 2 to 10 mi (3.2–16 km) wide, separating the Italian peninsula from Sicily and connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Reggio di Calabria...

Magellan, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Magellan, Strait of, c.330 mi (530 km) long and 21⁄2 to 15 mi (4–24 km) wide, separating South America from Tierra del Fuego and other islands south of the continent. Except for a few miles at its...

Dover, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Dover, Strait of, separating Great Britain from France and connecting the English Channel with the North Sea. It is 21 mi (34 km) wide between Dover and Cape Gris-Nez, near Calais, and is called Pas-d...

Georgia, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Georgia, Strait of, channel, c.150 mi (240 km) long, between the mainland of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Canada, between Puget Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound. It forms part of the inland s...

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...

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...