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English Channel
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English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It 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.
It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles; 350 statute miles) long and varies in width from 240 km (130 nmi; 150 mi) at its widest to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 square kilometres (22,000 square nautical miles; 29,000 square miles).
The Channel aided the United Kingdom in becoming a naval superpower, serving as a natural defence against invasions, such as in the Napoleonic Wars and in the Second World War.
The northern (English) coast of the Channel is more populous than the southern (French) coast. The major languages spoken in this region are English and French.
Roman sources named the Channel Oceanus Britannicus (or Mare Britannicum, meaning the Ocean, or the Sea, of the Britons or Britannī). Variations of this term were used by influential writers such as Ptolemy, and remained popular with British and continental authors well into the modern era. Other Latin names for the sea include Oceanus Gallicus (the Gaulish Ocean) which was used by Isidore of Seville in the sixth century.
The term British Sea is still used by speakers of Cornish and Breton, with the sea known to them as Mor Bretannek and Mor Breizh respectively. While it is likely that these names derive from the Latin term, it is possible that they predate the arrival of the Romans in the area. The modern Welsh is often given as Môr Udd (the Lord's or Prince's Sea); however, this name originally described both the Channel and the North Sea combined.
Anglo-Saxon texts make reference to the sea as Sūð-sǣ (South Sea), but this term fell out of favour, as later English authors followed the same conventions as their Latin and Norman contemporaries. One English name that did persist was the Narrow Seas, a collective term for the channel and North Sea. As England (followed by Great Britain and the United Kingdom) claimed sovereignty over the sea, a Royal Navy Admiral was appointed with maintaining duties in the two seas. The office was maintained until 1822, when several European nations (including the United Kingdom) adopted a three-mile (4.8 km) limit to territorial waters.
The word channel was first recorded in Middle English in the 13th century and was borrowed from the Old French word chanel (a variant form of chenel 'canal'). By the middle of the fifteenth century, an Italian map based on Ptolemy's description named the sea as Britanicus Oceanus nunc Canalites Anglie (Ocean of the Britons but now English Channel). The map is possibly the first recorded use of the term English Channel and the description suggests the name had recently been adopted.
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English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It 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.
It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles; 350 statute miles) long and varies in width from 240 km (130 nmi; 150 mi) at its widest to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 square kilometres (22,000 square nautical miles; 29,000 square miles).
The Channel aided the United Kingdom in becoming a naval superpower, serving as a natural defence against invasions, such as in the Napoleonic Wars and in the Second World War.
The northern (English) coast of the Channel is more populous than the southern (French) coast. The major languages spoken in this region are English and French.
Roman sources named the Channel Oceanus Britannicus (or Mare Britannicum, meaning the Ocean, or the Sea, of the Britons or Britannī). Variations of this term were used by influential writers such as Ptolemy, and remained popular with British and continental authors well into the modern era. Other Latin names for the sea include Oceanus Gallicus (the Gaulish Ocean) which was used by Isidore of Seville in the sixth century.
The term British Sea is still used by speakers of Cornish and Breton, with the sea known to them as Mor Bretannek and Mor Breizh respectively. While it is likely that these names derive from the Latin term, it is possible that they predate the arrival of the Romans in the area. The modern Welsh is often given as Môr Udd (the Lord's or Prince's Sea); however, this name originally described both the Channel and the North Sea combined.
Anglo-Saxon texts make reference to the sea as Sūð-sǣ (South Sea), but this term fell out of favour, as later English authors followed the same conventions as their Latin and Norman contemporaries. One English name that did persist was the Narrow Seas, a collective term for the channel and North Sea. As England (followed by Great Britain and the United Kingdom) claimed sovereignty over the sea, a Royal Navy Admiral was appointed with maintaining duties in the two seas. The office was maintained until 1822, when several European nations (including the United Kingdom) adopted a three-mile (4.8 km) limit to territorial waters.
The word channel was first recorded in Middle English in the 13th century and was borrowed from the Old French word chanel (a variant form of chenel 'canal'). By the middle of the fifteenth century, an Italian map based on Ptolemy's description named the sea as Britanicus Oceanus nunc Canalites Anglie (Ocean of the Britons but now English Channel). The map is possibly the first recorded use of the term English Channel and the description suggests the name had recently been adopted.
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