The Strait of Dover
The Strait of Dover is the strait at the narrowest part of the English channel. Its width is the shortest distance between Dover, England and Calais, France, just 20 miles, and on a clear day it is possible to see the opposite coastline with the naked eye.
It is believed that the strait was once land joining Great Britain to mainland Europe, which over time, has been eroded away to create the strait.
Dover strait is one of the busiest international seaways in the world, used regularly by over 400 commercial vessels every day. With so much traffic the strait is watched over 24 hours a day by HM coastguard. As well as the crossings from England to France, there is a large amount of traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the North & Baltic seas which passes through the strait rather than taking the long route around the north of Scotland.
There have been many unusual crossings of the Dover Strait, commonly by swimming across the channel, but also crossings have been attempted in pedalos and bathtubs.
The Strait of Dover is known to the French as Pas-de-Calais and in Roman times was called Fretum Gallicum
