The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 13 kilometres of ocean at the Strait's narrowest point between Punta de Tarifa in Spain and Point Cires in Morocco. Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes. The Strait's depth ranges between 300 and 900 metres.
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounded landmasses of the northern and southern hemispheres. Norway's coastline is estimated to be 29,000 km (18,000 mi) long with its nearly 1,200 fjords, but only 2,500 km (1,600 mi) long excluding the fjords.
Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges. They are usually classified along with other sponges in the phylum Porifera, but some researchers consider them sufficiently distinct to deserve their own phylum, Symplasma. Some experts believe glass sponges are the longest-lived animals on earth; these scientists tentatively estimate a maximum age of up to 15,000 years.
Pamlico Sound is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends 80 mi (130 km) long and 15 to 20 miles wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound, Roanoke Sound, Pamlico Sound, Bogue Sound, Back Sound, and Core Sound known collectively as the Albemarle-Pamlico sound system. With over 3,000 sq. mi. (7,800 km2) of open water the combined estuary is second only in size to 4,479 sq mi (11,600 km2) Chesapeake Bay in the United States.
The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada. Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose names mean "inside the River of Mist" ,and "people of the River of Mist," respectively. The river and its basin sustain a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and vegetation, and communities native to the area depend on the health of the river. The Tsimshian migrated to the Lower Skeena River, and the Gitxsan occupy territory of the Upper Skeena.
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeastern Alaska in the United States, through western British Columbia in Canada, to northwestern Washington state in the United States. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean and may visit some of the many isolated communities along the route. The Inside Passage is heavily travelled by cruise ships, freighters, tugs with tows, fishing craft, pleasure craft, and ships of the Alaska Marine Highway, BC Ferries, and Washington State Ferries systems. Coast Guard vessels of both Canada and the United States patrol and transit in the Passage.
Hecate Strait is a wide but shallow strait between Haida Gwaii and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It merges with Queen Charlotte Sound to the south and Dixon Entrance to the north. About 140 kilometres (87 mi) wide at its southern end, Hecate Strait narrows in the north to about 48 kilometres (30 mi). It is about 260 kilometres (160 mi) in length.
Knight Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast, and the largest of the major inlets in the southern part of the Coast. It is fifth in sequence of the great saltwater inlets north from the 49th parallel near Vancouver, but it is the first whose outflow points away from the Strait of Georgia, opening into Queen Charlotte Strait at the Kwakwakaʼwakw community of Memkumlis on Village Island.
Khutzeymateen Inlet is one of the lesser principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is important in being part of the first area in Canada protected to preserve grizzly bears and their habitat via the Khutzeymateen/K’tzim-a-deen Grizzly Sanctuary. The inlet and the park-sanctuary surrounding it are between the mouths of the Skeena and Nass Rivers; the Khutzeymateen is the next inlet north from Work Channel, which is the north side of the Tsimpsean Peninsula of "Greater Prince Rupert". The inlet's mouth opens onto an arm of Portland Inlet, Steamer Passage, which lies next to Sommerville Island. The entrance to Khutzeymateen Inlet is between Keemein Point and Welgeegenk Point. The closest community is Lax Kw'alaams, formerly Port Simpson.
The Salish Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington. It includes the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and an intricate network of connecting channels and adjoining waterways.
Porcher Island is an island in Hecate Strait, British Columbia, Canada, near the mouth of the Skeena River and southwest of the port city of Prince Rupert. The locality of Porcher Island is located near the island's northern tip at Humpback Bay, 54°05′11″N130°23′23″W. Stephens and Prescott Islands are located off its northwestern tip.
Portland Inlet is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the north coast of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 55 km (34 mi) north of Prince Rupert. It joins Chatham Sound opposite the Dixon Entrance. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) long and as much as 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. It drains the Portland Canal, Nass Bay, and Khutzeymateen Inlet, among others, and is the site of Pearse Island and Somerville Island. Other major sidewaters of the inlet are Observatory Inlet and its east arm, Alice Arm.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Oceanography.
Sponge reefs are reefs produced by sea sponges. All modern sponge reefs are formed by hexactinellid sponges, which have an endoskeleton made of silica spicules and are often referred to as "glass sponges", while historically the non-spiculed, calcite-skeletoned archaeocyathid and stromatoporoid sponges were the primariy reef-builders.
For more than 35 years, from 1923 to 1958, the Union steamship Cardena sailed the British Columbia Coast, carrying passengers, groceries, dry goods, industrial cargo, mail and sundry other supplies to the 200 or so mining, logging and fishing communities that once dotted the province's coastline during the early years of the 20th century. On her return voyage, at the peak of the summer fishing season, Cardena routinely carried thousands of cases of canned salmon to the railheads at Prince Rupert and Vancouver for shipment across Canada and around the world. And so it went for the better part of half a century; a regular and reliable marine service that made Cardena a coastal institution, remembered with affection and regard by the countless men, women and children who inhabited those tiny outports in a bygone era.
Marcus Passage is a stretch of saltwater on the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, offshore from the mouth of the Skeena River, south and west of Smith Island. Marcus Passage connects Chatham Sound with Telegraph Passage. The south side of Marcus Passage is defined by an extensive drying bank called Base Sand.
Smith Island is an island just north of the mouth of the Skeena River in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. To the south of the island is Marcus Passage. To the north is Inverness Passage, separating Smith Island from the Tsimpsean Peninsula. Eleanor Passage, connects Osborn Point, the most eastern point on the island, with the mouth of the Skeena River. De Horsey Passage separates De Horsey Island from Smith Island on the latter's east side. Croasdaile Island is to the south of the southern tip of Smith Island.
Seaforth Channel is a channel in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia which is part of the Inside Passage - the 950 miles (1,530 km) passage between Seattle, Washington and Juneau, Alaska. The marine highway goes through Seaforth Channel on the way to Milbanke Sound, one of the open sea portions of the Inland Passage. Seaforth Channel which is part of the Prince Rupert/Port Hardy BC ferry route, extends in a westerly direction from Denny Island to Milbanke Sound between Denny Island, Campbell Island and the Wright group of islands on the south. In October 2016, a Texas-owned tug/barge transiting the Canadian waters of the Inside Passage without a local pilot was hard grounded on a reef at the entrance to Seaforth Channel in October 2016. More than 100,000 L of fuel contaminated the coast, coves and shores 20 km (12 mi) west of Bella Bella, the core community of the Heiltsuk Nation as well as the environmentally sensitive Great Bear Rainforest - Canada's contribution to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy (QCC), a network of forest conservation programs. Clean up response and salvage was criticized by the Heiltsuk, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In November in Vancouver the Prime Minister announced a $1.5B ocean protection plan to "create a marine safety system, restore marine ecosystems and undertake research into oil spill cleanup methods."
Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area is a 2,410-square-kilometre marine protected area located in Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound off the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The marine protected area was established in February 2017 with the goal of conserving the biological diversity, structural habitat, and ecosystem function of four glass sponge reefs. These reefs were the first discovered living specimens and are the largest glass sponge reefs in the world.
The Amazonia marine ecoregion covers the coastal marine environment off the mouth of the Amazon River on the continental shelf of Brazil. The warm North Brazil Current moves east-to-west across the river's outlet, carrying turbid, fresh water to the northwest towards the Caribbean Sea. The Amazonia is one of two ecoregions in the North Brazil Shelf province, a large marine ecosystem (LME). It is thus part of the Tropical Atlantic realm.
