A strait is a water body connecting two seas or two water basins. While the landform generally constricts the flow, the surface water still flows, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in both directions. In some straits there may be a dominant directional current through the strait. Most commonly, it is a narrowing channel that lies between two land masses . Some straits are not navigable, for example because they are either too narrow or too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago . Straits are also known to be loci for sediment accumulation. Usually, sand-size deposits occur on both the two opposite strait exits, forming subaqueous fans or deltas .
13-660: Vilkitsky Strait (Russian: пролив Вилькицкого ) is a strait between the Taimyr Peninsula and Bolshevik Island in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago of Russia. The strait connects the Kara and Laptev Seas . The length of the Vilkitsky Strait is 128 km , the width approx. 55 km and the depth between 32 m and 210 m. It is covered with drifting ice all year round. The strait was discovered in 1913 by
26-553: A Russian hydrographic expedition led by Boris Vilkitsky and then named after him in 1918. The Geiberg Islands cover the entrance to the Vilkitsky Strait from the east, and the Firnley Islands do so from the west. The shores on the side of the Taymyr Peninsula are covered with tundra vegetation and scattered stones. The northern coast is higher, and it becomes lower going south. The rivers that flow into
39-785: Is a strait enabling passage from the Baltic Sea into the brackish Vistula Lagoon , located in Kaliningrad Oblast , Russia . The constructed strait separates the Vistula Spit from the peninsula (called Pillau Peninsula in Russia: Пиллауский полуостров, after the Pillau Fortress [ de ] ) which was part of the Vistula Spit in the 15th century and now is part of Sambian Peninsula . The strait
52-461: Is the shipping connection from the high sea to the important Russian ports of Baltiysk and Kaliningrad in the northeastern lagoon, as well as to the Polish ports of Elbląg , Braniewo , Tolkmicko , Frombork , Sztutowo , Krynica Morska , and Nowa Pasłęka in the southeastern lagoon. On 17 September 2022, Poland opened a new canal through the Vistula Spit, which will allow ships to enter
65-401: Is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals; Pearse Canal , for example. Straits are the converse of isthmuses . That is, while a strait lies between two land masses and connects two large areas of ocean, an isthmus lies between two areas of ocean and connects two large land masses. Some straits have
78-468: The Suez Canal . Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, they are not usually referred to as such. Rivers and often canals, generally have a directional flow tied to changes in elevation, whereas straits often are free flowing in either direction or switch direction, maintaining the same elevation. The term strait
91-816: The Polish port of Elbląg without passing through the Strait of Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad region. The Strait of Baltiysk is a strait where international navigation is governed by a non-suspendable innocent passage regime under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (dead-end strait ). Despite the law since the 1990s Russia periodically blocks navigation via the strait to Polish ports. Since 2006, Poland has considered digging another canal across
104-747: The Vilkitsky Strait from the continental side are not significant. They are shallow and not suitable for navigation. [1] , see pg. 30 This Russian location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Strait The terms channel , pass , or passage can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait , although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. In Scotland, firth or Kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Many straits are economically important. Straits can be important shipping routes and wars have been fought for control of them. Numerous artificial channels, called canals , have been constructed to connect two oceans or seas over land, such as
117-589: The Vistula Spit in order to circumvent this restriction. The Vistula Spit canal started construction in 2019 and opened in 2022. In 1497 a storm surge dug a new gat , then called the Neues [Pillauer] Tief or Pillauer Seetief (New [Pillau] Deep, Pillau Sea Deep), through the Vistula Spit. In 1510 another storm surge widened and deepened that gat to navigability. It measured 550 metres (1,800 ft) in length and 360 metres (1,180 ft) in width. In 1626 King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden landed with 37 ships next to
130-613: The gat, at a spot already slightly fortified, transforming it into the Pillau Fortress [ de ] , and holding it for ten years (till the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf ), also in order to pressure his brother-in-law George William, Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg , to support him in the Polish–Swedish War and the Thirty Years' War . The Swedes extended the adjacent Pillau village and built its first place of worship,
143-472: The potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines . Tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power . The Pentland Firth (a strait) may be capable of generating 10 GW . Cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5.6 GW even though the total energy available in the flow is 15 GW. Straits used for international navigation through
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#1732772446044156-423: The territorial sea between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone are subject to the legal regime of transit passage ( Strait of Gibraltar , Dover Strait , Strait of Hormuz ). The regime of innocent passage applies in straits used for international navigation (1) that connect a part of high seas or an exclusive economic zone with
169-717: The territorial sea of a coastal nation ( Straits of Tiran , Strait of Juan de Fuca , Strait of Baltiysk ) and (2) in straits formed by an island of a state bordering the strait and its mainland if there exists seaward of the island a route through the high seas or through an exclusive economic zone of similar convenience with respect to navigational and hydrographical characteristics ( Strait of Messina , Pentland Firth ). There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits. [REDACTED] Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons Strait of Baltiysk The Strait of Baltiysk ( Russian : Балтийский пролив , Polish : Cieśnina Piławska , German : Pillauer Tief )
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