Key Facts about English Channel

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About English Channel:

It is a narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean.
It separates the southern coast of England (part of Great Britain) from the northern coast of France.
The channel and the North Sea are connected at the Strait of Dover in the east.
The current name, “English Channel,” dates back to the 18th century. Before then, the English mostly referred to the waterway as a “Narrow Sea.”
The French refer to the Channel as “la Manche” because of its sleevelike shape.
With an area of some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square km), it is the smallest of the shallow seas covering the continental shelf of Europe.
It is 350 miles (560 kilometers) long. At its widest point, it is 150 miles (240 kilometers) across. At its narrowest, it is only 21 miles (34 kilometers) across.
It is a shallow waterway with an average depth of 63 m.
Climate: Temperate maritime climate, with warm summers and cold winters.
The main islands are the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands (a collection of islands including Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark).
It is one of the world’s busiest shipping areas, linking southern England, the United Kingdom to northern France.
It accounts for up to 20% of the global maritime trade and connects the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea.

Q1: What is a Channel?

A channel is a wide strait or waterway between two landmasses that lie close to each other. A channel can also be the deepest part of a waterway, or a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.

Source: Several migrants die while trying to cross English Channel: French minister