Øresund

Øresund (English, The Sound), northern Europe, strait connecting the strait of Kattegat on the north with the Baltic Sea on the south, and separating Sweden on the east from the Danish island of Sjaelland on the west. It forms part of the usual shipping passage between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is 105 km (65 mi) long, varies in width from about 48 km to 3 km (30 mi to 2 mi), and has a minimum depth of 7 m (23 ft). The most important seaports on the strait are Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden. A bridge and tunnel link connecting Copenhagen and Mälmo opened in July 2000. Consisting of a four-lane motorway and two rail tracks, the link considerably shortens journey times for travellers who previously had to rely on an hour-long ferry trip.