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A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies
of water, and thus lies between two land
masses. The terms strait, channel, and passage can be synonymous and interchangeable, although
channel has other meanings. Many straits are economically important. Straits can lie
on important shipping routes,
and wars have been fought for control of these straits. Numerous artificial channels, called
canals, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land.
Well-known straits in the world include the English Channel,
between England and France, which connects
the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean off France; the Strait of
Gibraltar, which is the only natural passage between the Atlantic
Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which connects the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea; and the Straits of Malacca, which
lie between Malaysia and Sumatra and
connect the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea.
Although rivers and canals often form a bridge between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal
definition of straits, they are not usually referred to as straits. Straits are typically much larger, wider structures that do
not have water running in a single direction, and normally connect two seas.
Straits are the duals of isthmuses. That is, while straits lie between two land
masses and connects two larger bodies of water, isthmuses lie between two bodies of water and connects two larger land
masses.
See also: list of straits, physical geography
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