Strait of Dover
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The Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais) is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, just 33 km wide between Dover in the county of Kent, England, and Calais in the département of Pas-de-Calais, France, and is considered by some to be the busiest shipping lane in the world. The Channel Tunnel passes under it.
It is at the eastern end of the English Channel, where it joins the North Sea. Its width is the shortest distance between France and the United Kingdom.
It is a busy waterway because all traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the North and Baltic Seas must pass here, or make a treacherous and stormy detour to the north of Scotland.
In the past, the commonest way for passengers and freight to cross the Strait was on ferries, but now the Channel Tunnel provides a convenient alternative.
The Strait itself is believed to have been created through erosion, mostly by the sea. At one time, there was land where the Strait is now, joining what is now the island of Great Britain to continental Europe. The predominant geology in the region on both the British and French sides — and even on the sea floor to quite a great depth into the earth's crust — is chalk. Although somewhat resistant to erosion, such erosion of the native white rock can still be observed on both coasts in the form of impressive sea cliffs, the famous White Cliffs of Dover, and Cap Gris-Nez on the French side of the Strait. This same rock also provided an excellent tunnelling medium for the Channel Tunnel.de:Straße von Dover et:Calais' väin fr:pas de Calais he:מצר דובר nl:Nauw van Calais ja:ドーバー海峡 pl:Cieśnina Kaletańska