The geography of the North Sea studies coastal and submarine features as well as the people who live on its coasts. It is bounded by the east coasts of England and Scotland to the west and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. [1] In the south-west, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north, it opens in a widening funnel shape to the Norwegian Sea, which lies in the very north-eastern part of the Atlantic.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows: [2]
On the Southwest. A line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N).
On the Northwest. From Dunnet Head (3°22'W) in Scotland to Tor Ness (58°47'N) in the Island of Hoy, thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy (58°55'N) on to Breck Ness on Mainland (58°58'N) through this island to Costa Head (3°14'W) and to Inga Ness (59'17'N) in Westray through Westray, to Bow Head, across to Mull Head (North point of Papa Westray) and on to Seal Skerry (North point of North Ronaldsay) and thence to Horse Island (South point of the Shetland Islands).
On the North. From the North point (Fethaland Point) of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands, across to Graveland Ness (60°39'N) in the Island of Yell, through Yell to Gloup Ness (1°04'W) and across to Spoo Ness (60°45'N) in Unst island, through Unst to Herma Ness (60°51'N), on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to Muckle Flugga ( 60°51′N0°53′W / 60.850°N 0.883°W ) all these being included in the North Sea area; thence up the meridian of 0°53' West to the parallel of 61°00' North and eastward along this parallel to the coast of Norway, the whole of Viking Bank being thus included in the North Sea.
On the East. The Western limit of the Skagerrak [A line joining Hanstholm ( 57°07′N83°6′E / 57.117°N 83.100°E ) and the Naze (Lindesnes, 58°N7°E / 58°N 7°E )].
The seabed is separated into three bathymetric areas, the Norwegian Trench and the north and south North Sea separated by the Dogger Bank. [3] For the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which reaches from the Stad peninsula in Sogn og Fjordane to the Oslofjord. The trench is between 1 and 2 nautical miles (1.9 and 3.7 km; 1.2 and 2.3 mi) wide and hundreds of metres deep. [4] Off the Rogaland coast, it is 250–300 m (820–980 ft) deep, and at its deepest point, off Arendal, it reaches 700 m (2,300 ft) deep as compared to the average depth of the North Sea, about 100 m (330 ft). [5] The trench is not a subduction-related oceanic trench, where one tectonic plate is being forced under another. It is mainly a deep erosional scour, while the western part follows the north–south line of an old rift valley formed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
To the east of Great Britain, lies the Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris, which rises up to 15 to 30 m (49 to 98 ft) deep. [6]
The Silver Pit is a hollow or valley-like depression that has been recognised since about 1843 by fishermen. [7] [8] Nearby is the Silverpit crater, a controversial structure initially proposed to be an impact crater, though another interpretation is that it may result from the dissolution of a thick bed of salt which permitted the upper strata to collapse. [9] The Devil's Hole is a group of trenches 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Dundee, Scotland which are up to 230 metres (750 ft) deep. [10] "The Long Forties" denotes a principal raised bank about 110 miles (180 km) in length that is between 35 and 40 fathoms (64 and 73 m) deep. [11] [12] It is located parallel to the shore of Scotland between Kinnaird's Head and Aberdeen. [13] The Broad Fourteens are a sand bar ridge between eleven and fourteen fathoms (20 m and 26 m) deep located off the Flemish and Danish coasts. [11] [14]
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, covering 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).
Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to Scandinavian fjord and fjard, with the original meaning of "sailable waterway". The word has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the Scottish east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the Firth of Clyde is an exception to this. The Highland coast contains numerous estuaries, straits, and inlets of a similar kind, but not called "firth" ; instead, these are often called sea lochs. Before about 1850, the spelling "Frith" was more common.
The Skagerrak is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea.
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.
The Celebes Sea or Sulawesi Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi's Minahasa Peninsula, and the west by northern Kalimantan in Indonesia. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 mi (840 km) east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 km2), to a maximum depth of 20,300 feet (6,200 m). South of the Cape Mangkalihat, the sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea.
Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Other settlements include Aith, Funzie, Herra and Tresta. Fetlar is the fourth-largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over 4,000 ha.
Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of 46 sq mi (120 km2).
The Davis Strait is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis (1550–1605), who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage. By the 1650s it was used for whale hunting.
The Labrador Sea is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait. It is a marginal sea of the Atlantic.
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The continental shelf, which drops away sharply, delimits the southern and western boundaries. The Iroise Sea off Brittany is entirely included within it. The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of small islands in the sea.
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
The extreme points of Norway include the coordinates that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in Norway; and the highest and the lowest altitudes in the country. The northernmost point is Rossøya on Svalbard, the southernmost is Pysen in Lindesnes Municipality, the easternmost is Kræmerpynten on Svalbard, and the westernmost is Hoybergodden on Jan Mayen. The highest peak is Galdhøpiggen, standing at 2,469 m (8,100 ft) above mean sea level, while the lowest elevation is sea level at the coast.
The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II.
The Norwegian trench or Norwegian channel is an elongated depression in the sea floor off the southern coast of Norway. It reaches from the Stad peninsula in Sogn og Fjordane in the northwest to the Oslofjord in the southeast. The trench is between 50 and 95 kilometres wide and up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep. Off the Rogaland coast it is 250–300 metres (820–980 ft) deep, and its deepest point is off Arendal where it reaches 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep – an abyss compared to the average depth of the North Sea, which is about 100 metres (330 ft).
For other islands with similar names, see Gruney (disambiguation)
The coastline of the North Sea has been evolving since the end of the last ice age. The coastline varies from fjords, river estuaries to mudflats.
Westside Church,, is a ruined 12th century church located on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. Archaeological excavations at the site suggest that the church is related to a nearby late Norse settlement. Historic Environment Scotland established the site, which includes the church and surrounding cemetery, as a scheduled monument in 1921.
The borders of the oceans are the limits of Earth's oceanic waters. The definition and number of oceans can vary depending on the adopted criteria. The principal divisions of the five oceans are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern (Antarctic) Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays, straits, and other terms. Geologically, an ocean is an area of oceanic crust covered by water.
The Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED) is a proposed solution to the problem of rising ocean levels in Northern Europe. It would be a megaproject, involving the construction of two massive dams in the English Channel and the North Sea; the former between France and England, and the latter between Scotland and Norway. The concept was conceived by the oceanographers Sjoerd Groeskamp and Joakim Kjellsson.
silver pit.
long forties.