Editing English Channel (section)

=== Geography ===
[[File:English Channel.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the English Channel]]
{{anchor|Bay of the Seine}} <!-- term redirect to section -->

The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the English Channel as:<ref name="IHO">{{Cite web |year=1971 |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition + corrections |url=https://epic.awi.de/29772/1/IHO1953a.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000019/http://epic.awi.de/29772/1/IHO1953a.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=9 May 2016 |publisher=International Hydrographic Organization |pages=42 [corrections to page 13] and 6}}</ref>

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* ''On the West.'' From the coast of [[Brittany]] westward along the parallel (48°28' N) of the East extreme of [[Ushant]] (Lédénès), through this island to West extreme thereof (Pointe de Pern), thence to the [[Bishop Rock]], the Southwest extreme of the [[Scilly Isles]], and on a line passing to the Westward of these Isles as far as the North extreme (Lion Rock) and thence Eastward to the [[Longships, Cornwall|Longships]] (50°04' N) and on to [[Land's End|Lands End]].
* ''On the East.'' The Southwestern limit of the [[North Sea]].
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[[File:FranceGrisNez2Dover.jpg|thumb|The Strait of Dover viewed from France, looking towards England. The [[white cliffs of Dover]] on the English coast are visible from France on a clear day.]]
The [[Strait of Dover]] ({{langx|fr|Pas de Calais|link=no}}), at the Channel's eastern end, is its narrowest point, while its widest point lies between [[Lyme Bay]] and the Gulf of [[Saint Malo]], near its midpoint.<ref name="Columbia" /> Well on the continental shelf, it has an average depth of about {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} at its widest; yet averages about {{convert|45|m|ft|abbr=on}} between [[Dover]] and [[Calais]], its notable sandbank hazard being [[Goodwin Sands]]. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about {{convert|26|m|ft|abbr=on}} across the [[Broad Fourteens]] (14 fathoms) where it lies over the southern cusp of the former land bridge between [[East Anglia]] and the [[Low Countries]]. The North Sea reaches much greater depths east of northern Britain.  The Channel descends briefly to {{convert|180|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the submerged valley of [[Hurd's Deep]], {{convert|48|km|mi|abbr=on}} west-northwest of [[Guernsey]].<ref>"English Channel" ''The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas.'' 2005.</ref>

{{anchor|Bay of the Seine2}}[[File:Three French river mouths.JPG|thumb|Three French river mouths. Top to bottom: the [[River Somme|Somme]], the [[Authie (river)|Authie]] and the [[Canche]]]]
There are several major islands in the Channel, the most notable being the [[Isle of Wight]] off the English coast, and the [[Channel Islands]], British [[Crown Dependencies]] off the coast of France. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is deeply indented, with several small islands close to the coastline, including [[Chausey]] and [[Mont-Saint-Michel]]. The [[Cotentin Peninsula]] on the French coast juts out into the Channel, with the wide Bay of the Seine ({{langx|fr|link=no|Baie de Seine}}) to its east. On the English side there is a small parallel [[strait]], the [[Solent]], between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The [[Celtic Sea]] is to the west of the Channel.

The Channel acts as a funnel that amplifies the tidal range from less than a metre at sea in eastern places to more than 6 metres in the [[Channel Islands]], the west coast of the [[Cotentin Peninsula]] and the north coast of [[Brittany]] in monthly [[spring tide]]s. The time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the [[tidal range]] being amplified further by [[resonance]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=LuAnne |author-link=LuAnne Thompson |title=Tide Dynamics – Dynamic Theory of Tides. |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/luanne/pages/ocean420/notes/tidedynamics.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221701/http://faculty.washington.edu/luanne/pages/ocean420/notes/tidedynamics.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=14 April 2013 |publisher=University of Washington}}</ref>  Amphidromic points are the [[Bay of Biscay]] and varying more in precise location in the far south of the North Sea, meaning both those associated eastern coasts repel the tides effectively, leaving the Strait of Dover as every six hours the natural bottleneck short of its consequent gravity-induced repulsion of the southward tide (surge) of the North Sea (equally from the Atlantic).  The Channel does not experience, but its existence is necessary to explain the extent of [[North Sea storm surges]], such as necessitate the [[Thames Barrier]], [[Delta Works]], [[Zuiderzee works]] ([[Afsluitdijk]] and other dams).

In the UK [[Shipping Forecast]] the Channel is divided into the following areas, from the east:
* [[Dover]]
* [[Isle of Wight|Wight]]
* [[Isle of Portland|Portland]]
* [[Plymouth]]