The strait that joins the English Channel with the North Sea, separating England from France at its narrowest point, is the:

The Strait of Dover (in French, Pas de Calais) is the narrowest part of the English Channel. It connects the English Channel with the North Sea and separates Great Britain from continental Europe (France).

Features of the Strait of Dover:

• It is only about 33 km (about 21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, between Dover in England and Cap Gris-Nez near Calais in France.
• On clear days, the French coast can be seen from the famous White Cliffs of Dover, made of chalk.
• It is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, used by hundreds of ships every day.

The Channel Tunnel:

• The Channel Tunnel (Eurotunnel), opened in 1994, runs under the Strait of Dover, connecting Folkestone in England with Coquelles near Calais in France.
• It is about 50 km long, with about 38 km under the sea, the longest undersea section of any tunnel in the world.
• Eurostar passenger trains and shuttle trains carrying cars and trucks use it.

Formation:

• Until about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, Britain was connected to mainland Europe by a land bridge called Doggerland.
• As sea levels rose after the last Ice Age, the land was flooded, separating Britain from the continent.

Other important European straits:

• Strait of Gibraltar: between Spain and Morocco, linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
• Bosporus: in Turkey, linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and separating Europe and Asia.
• Skagerrak and Kattegat: between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, linking the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
• Good to know
• These straits connect other water bodies, not the English Channel and the North Sea.