Editing Bering Strait (section)

== Geography and science ==
The Bering Strait is about {{convert|82|km|mi|sp=us}} wide at its narrowest point, between [[Cape Dezhnev]], [[Chukchi Peninsula]], [[Russia]], the easternmost point (169° 39' W) of the Asian continent and [[Cape Prince of Wales]], [[Alaska]], United States, the westernmost point (168° 05' W) of the [[North American continent]]. Its deepest point is only {{convert|90|m}}. It borders the [[Chukchi Sea]] (part of the [[Arctic Ocean]]) to the north and the [[Bering Sea]] to the south.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodgate |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Woodgate |title=CIRCULATION AND OUTFLOWS OF THE CHUKCHI SEA |url=http://psc.apl.washington.edu/HLD/Chukchi/Chukchi.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 27, 2021 |website=psc.apl.washington.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010225013245/http://psc.apl.washington.edu:80/HLD/Chukchi/Chukchi.html |archive-date=February 25, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dr. Alexander |first=Vera |title=Why is the Bering Sea Important? |url=https://www.beringclimate.noaa.gov/essays_alexander.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031205211329/http://www.beringclimate.noaa.gov:80/essays_alexander.html |archive-date=December 5, 2003}}</ref> The strait is a unique [[habitat]] sparsely populated by the [[Yupik peoples|Yupik]], [[Inuit]], and [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]] people who have cultural and linguistic ties to each other.<ref>Betsy Baker. Polar Institute. (November 2021). Beyond the Northern Sea Route:Enhancing Russian-United States Cooperation in the Bering Strait Region. Series:Polar Perspectives No. 8. [https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/polar-perspectives-no-8-beyond-northern-sea-route-enhancing-russian-united-states Wilson Center website] Retrieved January 10, 2022.</ref>

The strait is thought to have opened 4.8-7.4 million years ago. It is believed that the narrowing of the strait 900,000 years ago could be one of the reasons for increasing the duration of the ice age.