Editing English Channel (section)

{{Short description|Body of water between Great Britain and France}}
{{redirect|The Channel|the racehorse|English Channel (horse)|other uses|Channel (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = {{nowrap|English Channel}}
| image              = [[File:English Channel Satellite.jpg|frameless|upright=1.2]]
| caption            = 
| alt                = Satellite image of the English Channel between England and France
| image_bathymetry   = 
| pushpin_map        = United Kingdom Channel Islands
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location           = [[Northwestern Europe]]; between the [[Celtic Sea|Celtic]] and [[North Sea|North]] Seas
| coords             = {{Coord|50.2|N|2|W|type:waterbody_scale:2500000|display=inline,title}}
| type               = 
| part_of            = {{nowrap|[[Atlantic Ocean]]}}
| inflow             = {{plainlist|
* [[River Exe]]
* [[Seine]]
* [[River Test]]
* [[River Tamar]]
* [[Somme (river)|Somme]]
}}
| outflow            = 
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = {{plainlist|
* [[England]] ([[UK]])
* [[France]]
* [[Bailiwick of Guernsey|Guernsey]]
* [[Jersey]]
}}
| length             = {{convert|560|km|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|240|km|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|75000|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth              = {{convert|63|m|abbr=on}}
| max-depth          = {{convert|174|m|ft|abbr=on}} <br /> at [[Hurd's Deep]]
| volume             = {{convert|9000|km3|abbr=on}} (approx.)
| residence_time     = 
| salinity           = 3.4–3.5%
| shore              = 
| temperature_high   = {{convert|20|C}}
| temperature_low    = {{convert|5|C}}
| frozen             = 
| islands            = {{cslist|{{nowrap|[[Île de Bréhat]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Île de Batz]]}}|[[Chausey]]|[[Tatihou]]|{{nowrap|[[Mont-Saint-Michel]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Îles Saint-Marcouf]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Isle of Wight]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Burgh Island]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Drake's Island]]}}|{{nowrap|[[Looe Island]]}}|{{nowrap|[[St Michael's Mount]]}}|[[Jersey]]|[[Guernsey]]|[[Alderney]]|[[Sark]]|[[Herm]]}}
| cities             = {{cslist|[[Bournemouth]]|[[Brighton]]|[[Plymouth]]|[[Portsmouth]]|[[Southampton]]|[[Calais]]|[[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]|[[Dieppe, France|Dieppe]]|{{nowrap|[[Le Havre]]|[[Cherbourg]]|[[Saint-Malo]]|[[Saint-Brieuc]] }}}}
| trenches           = 
| benches            = 
| reference          = 
| other_name         = {{plainlist|
* {{langx|br|Mor Breizh}}
* [[Cornish language|Cornish]]: {{lang|kw|Mor Brettanek}}
* {{langx|fr|La Manche}}
* [[Guernésiais]]: {{lang|nrf|Lé Ch'nal}}
* [[Jèrriais]]: {{lang|nrf|Lé Ch'na}}
* {{langx|nrf|La Maunche}}
*{{langx|pcd|Chele Manche}}
}}
}}

The '''English Channel''',{{efn|{{langx|fr|la Manche}}, "The Sleeve"; {{langx|nrf|la Maunche}}, "The Sleeve" ([[Cotentinais]]) or {{lang|nrf|lé Ch'na}} ([[Jèrriais]]), {{lang|nrf|lé Ch'nal}} ([[Guernésiais]]), "The Channel"; {{langx|br|Mor Breizh}}, "Sea of Brittany"; {{langx|cy|Môr Udd}}, "Lord's Sea"; {{langx|kw|Mor Bretannek}}, "British Sea"; {{langx|nl|Het Kanaal}}, "The Channel"; {{langx|de|Ärmelkanal}}, "Sleeve Channel"}}<ref name="oxfordreference_com">{{cite web |title=Narrow Seas - Oxford Reference - in The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100223123 |website=oxfordreference.com |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=1 December 2021 |language=en }}</ref> also known as '''the Channel''', is an arm of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] that separates [[Southern England]] from northern [[France]]. It links to the southern part of the [[North Sea]] by the [[Strait of Dover]] at its northeastern end. It is the busiest [[Sea lane|shipping area]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Busiest shipping lane |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/busiest-shipping-lane |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164116/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/busiest-shipping-lane |archive-date=16 September 2018 |access-date=16 September 2018 |website=guinnessworldrecords.com}}</ref>

It is about {{convert|560|km|nmi smi|abbr=off}} long and varies in width from {{convert|240|km|nmi smi|abbr=on}} at its widest to {{convert|34|km|nmi smi|abbr=on}} at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover.<ref name="Columbia">"English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004.</ref> It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some {{convert|75000|km2|sqnmi sqmi|abbr=off}}.<ref name="eb">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/English-Channel |title=English Channel |last= |first= |date= |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher= |access-date=April 11, 2022 |quote= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411105450/https://www.britannica.com/place/English-Channel |archivedate=April 11, 2022}}</ref>

The Channel aided the [[United Kingdom]] in becoming a naval superpower, serving as a natural defence against invasions, such as in the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and in the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref name=":0" />

The northern, English coast of the Channel is more populous than the southern, French coast. The major languages spoken in this region are [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]].