English Channel

English Channel, narrow sea, western Europe, separating France and Great Britain. Known in French as La Manche (“the sleeve”), it is 180 km (112 mi) wide in the west where it meets the Atlantic Ocean and narrows to 34 km (21 mi) at the Strait of Dover in the east at its junction with the North Sea. Its principal islands are the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. Chief ports are Cherbourg and Le Havre in France and Southampton in Great Britain. Regular ferry services cross the Channel between these and several smaller ports, including Dover, Plymouth, and Portsmouth in Great Britain and Calais, Dunkerque, Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Dieppe in France. A 30-minute hovercraft connection between Dover and Calais was replaced by a catamaran service in October 2000. Although slightly slower at 45 minutes, the catamaran offers greater carrying capacity and better facilities than the hovercraft, which was forced to retire due to competition from the Channel Tunnel. A Channel tunnel crossing, first discussed in 1802, was begun in the mid-1980s. The Channel Tunnel (a rail tunnel) opened in 1994 and can carry passengers, cars, and lorries. Fishing remains important only in Brittany in north-western France, where the strong tides common in channel coastal areas have also been harnessed to produce electricity in the Rance River estuary. Numerous seaside resorts are located on both the French and British coasts.