View source for English Channel

{{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         ={{collapsible list
  |titlestyle = text-align:center;
  |liststyle = text-align:center;font-weight: normal;
  |title = Other native names
  |1={{native name list 
  | tag1=br | name1 = Mor Breizh
  | tag2=kw | name2 = Mor Brettanek
  | tag3=fr | name3 = La Manche
  | tag4=nrf | name4 = Lé Ch'nal |paren4=omit  |postfix4=&nbsp;([[Guernésiais]])
  | tag5=nrf | name5 = Lé Ch'na  |paren5=omit  |postfix5=&nbsp;([[Jèrriais]])
  | tag6=nrf | name6 = La Maunche
  | tag7=fr | name7 = 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]].

== Names ==
[[Image:Strait of Dover map.png|thumb|right|The [[Strait of Dover]] between [[England]] and [[France]] is the narrowest part of the English Channel, which separates [[Great Britain]] from [[continental Europe]], and marks the boundary between the Channel and the [[North Sea]].]]
[[Roman historiography|Roman sources]] named the Channel {{lang|la|Oceanus Britannicus}} (or {{lang|la|Mare Britannicum}}, meaning the Ocean, or the Sea, of the Britons or ''Britannī''). Variations of this term were used by influential writers such as [[Ptolemy]], and remained popular with British and continental authors well into the modern era. Other [[Latin]] names for the sea include {{lang|la|Oceanus Gallicus}} (the Gaulish Ocean) which was used by [[Isidore of Seville]] in the sixth century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morieux |first1=Renaud |title=Une mer pour deux royaumes : La Manche, une mer franco-anglaise |date=2008 |publisher=Presses Universitaires de Rennes |language=French}}</ref>

The term ''British Sea'' is still used by speakers of [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and [[Breton language|Breton]], with the sea known to them as {{lang|kw|Mor Bretannek}} and {{lang|br|Mor Breizh}} respectively. While it is likely that these names derive from the Latin term, it is possible that they predate the arrival of the Romans in the area. The [[modern Welsh]] is often given as {{lang|cy|Môr Udd}} (the Lord's or Prince's Sea); however, this name originally described both the Channel and the [[North Sea]] combined.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Laurentin |first1=Emmanuel |title=La Grande-Bretagne, L'Europe et les Autres (Épisode 4 : Quatre histoires de la Manche) |url=https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-fabrique-de-lhistoire/la-grande-bretagne-leurope-et-les-autres-44-quatre-histoires-de-la-manche |website=France Culture |date=28 March 2019 |access-date=2 December 2021 |language=French}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anwyl |first1=Edward |title=Wales and the Britons of the North |journal=The Celtic Review |date=1904 |volume=4 |page=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mIGAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

[[Old English literature|Anglo-Saxon texts]] make reference to the sea as {{lang|ang|Sūð-sǣ}} (South Sea), but this term fell out of favour, as later English authors followed the same conventions as their Latin and Norman contemporaries. One English name that did persist was the ''Narrow Seas'', a collective term for the channel and [[North Sea]]. As England (followed by Great Britain and the United Kingdom) claimed sovereignty over the sea, a Royal Navy Admiral was appointed with maintaining duties in the two seas. The office was maintained until 1822, when several European nations (including the United Kingdom) adopted a {{Convert|3|mi|adj=on|spell=in}} limit to territorial waters.<ref name="oxfordreference_com" />

=== English Channel ===
[[File:Osborne-iow-3Ja10-10876.jpg|thumb|right|[[Osborne House]], the summer retreat of [[Queen Victoria]] on the [[Isle of Wight]]. Starting from the late 18th century, settlements on and around the English Channel coastline in England grew rapidly into thriving [[seaside resort]]s, bolstered by their association with royalty and the middle and upper classes.]]
The word ''channel'' was first recorded in [[Middle English]] in the 13th century and was borrowed from the [[Old French]] word {{lang|fro|chanel}} (a variant form of {{lang|fro|chenel}} 'canal'). By the middle of the fifteenth century, an Italian map based on [[Ptolemy]]'s description named the sea as ''Britanicus Oceanus nunc Canalites Anglie'' (Ocean of the Britons but now English Channel). The map is possibly the first recorded use of the term ''English Channel'' and the description suggests the name had recently been adopted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2009 |title=Map of Great Britain, ca. 1450 |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/m/001hrl000003686u00013000.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103183346/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/m/001hrl000003686u00013000.html |archive-date=3 November 2013 |access-date=1 November 2013 |website=The unveiling of Britain |publisher=[[British Library]] |quote=This may also be the first map to name the English Channel: "{{lang|la|britanicus oceanus nunc canalites Anglie}}" }}</ref>

In the sixteenth century, Dutch maps referred to the sea as the {{lang|nl|Engelse Kanaal}} (English Channel) and by the 1590s, [[William Shakespeare]] used the word ''Channel'' in his history plays of [[Henry VI (play)|Henry VI]], suggesting that by that time, the name was popularly understood by English people.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Buitenlandse Aardrijkskundige Namen |trans-title=Foreign Geographical Names |url=http://taaladvies.net/taal/aardrijkskundige_namen/land/UK |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122065318/http://taaladvies.net/taal/aardrijkskundige_namen/land/UK |archive-date=22 November 2012 |access-date=1 December 2012 |publisher=Nederlandse Taalunie |language=nl}}</ref>

By the eighteenth century, the name ''English Channel'' was in common usage in [[Kingdom of England|England]]. Following the [[Acts of Union 1707]], this was replaced in official maps and documents with ''British Channel'' or ''British Sea'' for much of the next century. However, the term English Channel remained popular and was finally in official usage by the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 February 1999 |title=A chart of the British Channel, Jefferys, Thomas, 1787 |url=http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps6489.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523132816/http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps6489.html |archive-date=23 May 2011 |access-date=27 April 2010 |publisher=Davidrumsey.com}}</ref>

=== {{lang|fr|La Manche}} ===
[[File:Carte de la Manche.png|thumb|Map of the channel area with French nomenclature]]
The French name {{lang|fr|la Manche}} has been used since at least the 17th century.<ref name="eb"/> The name is usually said to refer to the sleeve ({{langx|fr|link=no|la manche}}) shape of the Channel. [[Folk etymology]] has derived it from a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] word meaning 'channel' that is also the source of the name for [[the Minch]] in Scotland,<ref>Room A. ''Placenames of the world: origins and meanings'', p. 6.</ref> but this name is not attested before the 17th century, and French and British sources of that time are clear about its etymology.<ref>Cotgrave R., ''A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues'', London, A. Islip, 1611, art. «&thinsp;Manche&thinsp;».</ref> The name in French has been directly adapted in other languages as either a [[calque]], such as {{langx|it|Canale della Manica|label=none}} in Italian or the ''Ärmelkanal'' in German, or a direct [[loanword|borrowing]], such as {{langx|es|Canal de la Mancha|label=none}} in Spanish.

== Nature ==
=== 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>

{{blockquote|{{indented plainlist|
* ''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]].
}}
}}

[[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 point]]s 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]]

=== Geological origins ===
[[File:Weichsel-Würm-Glaciation.png|thumb|Europe during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] {{Circa|20,000 years ago}}]]
The full English Channel connecting the [[North Sea]] to the [[Western Atlantic]] via the [[Strait of Dover]] is of geologically recent origin, having formed late in the [[Pleistocene]] period.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=English Channel {{!}} channel, Europe |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/English-Channel |access-date=16 May 2017 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403222035/https://www.britannica.com/place/English-Channel |archive-date=3 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The English Channel first developed as an arm of the Atlantic Ocean during the [[Pliocene]] period (5.3-2.6 million years ago) as a result of differential [[tectonic uplift]] along pre-existing tectonic weaknesses during the [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] periods. During this early period, the Channel did not connect to the North Sea,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lagarde |first1=J. L. |last2=Amorese |first2=D. |last3=Font |first3=M. |last4=Laville |first4=E. |last5=Dugué |first5=O. |date=March 2003 |title=The structural evolution of the English Channel area |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.744 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3–4 |pages=201–213 |doi=10.1002/jqs.744 |bibcode=2003JQS....18..201L |issn=0267-8179|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Ireland]] remaining part of [[continental Europe]], linked by an unbroken [[Weald-Artois Anticline|Weald–Artois anticline]], a ridge running between the Dover and Calais regions. During Pleistocene glacial periods this ridge acted as a natural dam holding back a large freshwater [[pro-glacial lake]] in the [[Doggerland]] region, now submerged under the [[North Sea]]. During this period, the North Sea and almost all of the British Isles were covered by ice. The lake was fed by meltwater from the Baltic and from the Caledonian and Scandinavian [[ice sheet]]s that joined to the north, blocking its exit. The sea level was about {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} lower than it is today. Then, between 450,000 and 180,000&nbsp;years ago, at least two catastrophic [[glacial lake outburst flood]]s breached the Weald–Artois anticline. These contributed to creating some of the deepest parts of the channel such as [[Hurd's Deep]].

The first flood of 450,000 years ago  would have lasted for several months, releasing as much as one million cubic metres of water per second.<ref name="Gupta Nature">{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjeev |last2=Jenny S. Collier, Andy Palmer-Felgate & Graeme Potter |last3=Palmer-Felgate |first3=Andy |last4=Potter |first4=Graeme |year=2007 |title=Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=448 |issue=7151 |pages=342–345 |bibcode=2007Natur.448..342G |doi=10.1038/nature06018 |pmid=17637667 |s2cid=4408290}}
*{{cite news |author=Dave Mosher |date=18 July 2007 |title=Why the rift between Britain and France? |work=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19833064}}</ref><ref name="PhysToday">{{Cite journal |last=Schwarzschild |first=Bertram |date=September 2007 |title=Sonar mapping suggests that the English Channel was created by two megafloods |url=http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/englishchannelfloods/physicstoday.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Physics Today |volume=60 |issue=9 |pages=24–27 |bibcode=2007PhT....60i..24S |doi=10.1063/1.2784673 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002162907/http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/englishchannelfloods/physicstoday.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2011 |access-date=27 April 2010}}</ref> The flood started with large but localised waterfalls over the ridge, which excavated depressions now known as the ''Fosses [[Louis Dangeard|Dangeard]]''. The flow eroded the retaining ridge, causing the rock dam to fail and releasing lake water into the Atlantic. After multiple episodes of changing sea level, during which the ''Fosses Dangeard'' were largely infilled by various layers of sediment, another catastrophic flood some 180,000 years ago carved a large bedrock-floored valley, the [[Lobourg Channel]], some 500 m wide and 25 m deep, from the southern North Sea basin through the centre of the [[Straits of Dover]] and into the English Channel.<ref name="PhysToday" /> It left streamlined islands, longitudinal erosional grooves, and other features characteristic of catastrophic [[megaflood]] events, still present on the sea floor and now revealed by high-resolution sonar.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjeev |last2=Collier |first2=Jenny S. |last3=Garcia-Moreno |first3=David |last4=Oggioni |first4=Francesca |last5=Trentesaux |first5=Alain |last6=Vanneste |first6=Kris |last7=De Batist |first7=Marc |last8=Camelbeeck |first8=Thierry |last9=Potter |first9=Graeme |last10=Van Vliet-Lanoë |first10=Brigitte |last11=Arthur |first11=John C. R. |year=2017 |title=Two-stage opening of the Dover Strait and the origin of island Britain |journal=Nature Communications |volume=8 |article-number=15101 |bibcode=2017NatCo...815101G |doi=10.1038/ncomms15101 |pmc=5382280 |pmid=28375202}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjeev |last2=Collier |first2=Jenny S. |last3=Palmer-Felgate |first3=Andy |last4=Potter |first4=Graeme |year=2007 |title=Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel |journal=Nature |volume=448 |issue=7151 |pages=342–345 |bibcode=2007Natur.448..342G |doi=10.1038/nature06018 |pmid=17637667 |s2cid=4408290}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2007 |title=Catastrophic Flooding Changed the Course of British History |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718140833.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703151736/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718140833.htm |archive-date=3 July 2017 |access-date=28 February 2018 |website=Science Daily}}</ref> Through the scoured channel passed a river, the [[Channel River]], which drained the combined [[Rhine]] and [[Thames]] westwards to the Atlantic.

The flooding destroyed the ridge that connected Britain to [[continental Europe]], although a land connection across the southern [[North Sea]] would have existed intermittently at later times when periods of [[glaciation]] resulted in lowering of sea levels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bryony Coles |title=The Doggerland project |url=http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/title,89282,en.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606132746/http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/title_89282_en.html |archive-date=6 June 2020 |access-date=3 January 2011 |publisher=University of Exeter}}</ref>

During [[interglacial]] periods (when sea levels were high) between the initial flooding 450,000 years ago until around 180,000 years ago, the Channel would still have been separated from the North Sea by a land bridge to the north of the Strait of Dover (the Strait of Dover at this time formed part of an [[estuary]] fed by the Thames and [[Scheldt]]), restricting interchange of marine fauna between the Channel and the North Sea (except perhaps by occasional overtopping). During the [[Last Interglacial|Last Interglacial/Eemian]] (115–130,000 years ago) the connection between the North Sea and the English Channel was fully open as it is today, resulting in Britain being an island during this interval, before lowered sea levels reconnected it to the continent during the [[Last Glacial Period]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hijma |first1=Marc P. |last2=Cohen |first2=Kim M. |last3=Roebroeks |first3=Wil |last4=Westerhoff |first4=Wim E. |last5=Busschers |first5=Freek S. |date=January 2012 |title=Pleistocene Rhine–Thames landscapes: geological background for hominin occupation of the southern North Sea region |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.1549 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=17–39 |doi=10.1002/jqs.1549 |bibcode=2012JQS....27...17H |issn=0267-8179|url-access=subscription }}</ref> From the end of the Last Glacial Period, to the beginning of the Holocene rising sea levels again resulted in the unimpeded connection between the North Sea and the English Channel resuming due to the sinking of [[Doggerland]], with Britain again becoming an island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bicket |first1=Andrew |last2=Tizzard |first2=Louise |date=December 2015 |title=A review of the submerged prehistory and palaeolandscapes of the British Isles |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0016787815000978 |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |language=en |volume=126 |issue=6 |pages=643–663 |doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2015.08.009|bibcode=2015PrGA..126..643B |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Ecology ===
As a busy shipping lane, the Channel experiences environmental problems following accidents involving ships with toxic cargo and oil spills.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 February 2006 |title=Tanker wreck starts leaking oil |publisher=BBC |location=London |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/4668664.stm |url-status=live |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103192242/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/4668664.stm |archive-date=3 January 2007}}</ref> Indeed, over 40% of the UK incidents threatening pollution occur in or very near the Channel.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2006 |title=Annual Survey of Reported Discharges |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/pacops_final_report_2006.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112181910/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/pacops_final_report_2006.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2009 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]]}}</ref> One occurrence was the [[MSC Napoli|MSC ''Napoli'']], which on 18 January 2007 was beached with nearly 1700&nbsp;tonnes of dangerous cargo in Lyme Bay, a protected World Heritage Site coastline.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSC Napoli {{!}} Ship Disasters |url=http://www.ship-disasters.com/commercial-ship-disasters/container-ship-disasters/msc-napoli/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312233239/http://www.ship-disasters.com/commercial-ship-disasters/container-ship-disasters/msc-napoli/ |archive-date=12 March 2019 |access-date=3 February 2017 |website=www.ship-disasters.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The ship had been damaged and was en route to [[Portland Harbour]].

The English Channel, despite being a busy shipping lane, remains in part a haven for wildlife. Atlantic oceanic species are more common in the westernmost parts of the channel, particularly to the west of [[Start Point, Devon]], but can sometimes be found further east towards Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Seal sightings are becoming more common along the English Channel, with both [[grey seal]] and [[harbour seal]] recorded frequently.

== Human history ==
<!-- unexplained bit of poetry {{Poemquote |quote=This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands.
|source= [[William Shakespeare]], ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' (Act II, Scene 1)
}}
-->
The Channel is thought to have prevented [[Neanderthals]] from colonising Britain during the Last Interglacial/Eemian, though they returned to Britain during the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were lower.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wenban-Smith |first=Francis |date=September 2010 |title=M25 roadworks reveal earliest UK Neanderthal occupation at Dartford |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2451.2010.00766.x |journal=Geology Today |language=en |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=175–179 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2451.2010.00766.x |bibcode=2010GeolT..26..175W |issn=0266-6979|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Channel has in historic times been both an easy entry for seafaring people and a key natural defence, halting invading armies while in conjunction with control of the North Sea allowing Britain to blockade the continent.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The most significant failed invasion threats came when the Dutch and Belgian ports were held by a major continental power, e.g. from the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588, [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. Successful invasions include the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066 and the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, while the concentration of excellent harbours in the Western Channel on Britain's south coast made possible the largest amphibious invasion in history, the [[Normandy Landings]] in 1944. Channel [[list of naval battles|naval battles]] include the [[Battle of the Downs]] (1639), [[Battle of Dover (1652)|Battle of Dover]] (1652), the [[Battle of Portland]] (1653) and the [[Battle of La Hougue]] (1692).

In more peaceful times, the Channel served as a link joining shared cultures and political structures, particularly the huge [[Angevin Empire]] from 1135 to 1217. For nearly a thousand years, the Channel also provided a link between the [[Modern Celts|Modern Celtic]] regions and languages of [[Cornwall]] and [[Brittany]]. Brittany was founded by [[Ancient Britons|Britons]] who fled [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]] after Anglo-Saxon encroachment. In Brittany, there is a region known as "[[Cornouaille]]" (Cornwall) in French and "Kernev" in [[Breton language|Breton]].<ref>Cf. "Kernow", the Cornish for Cornwall.</ref> In ancient times there was also a "[[Domnonia]]" (Devon) in Brittany as well.

In [[Great Frost of 1683–84|February 1684]], ice formed on the sea in a belt {{Convert|4.8|km|mi|abbr=on}}  wide off the coast of [[Kent]] and {{Convert|3.2|km|mi|abbr=on}}  wide on the French side.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Flohn |first1=Hermann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0pAEI6AWLgC&pg=PA46 |title=The Climate of Europe, past, present, and future |last2=Fantechi |first2=Roberto |year=1984 |isbn=978-90-277-1745-0 |page=46|publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great Frost of 1683-4 |url=http://www.pastpresented.info/frost1683.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721231007/http://www.pastpresented.info/frost1683.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=www.pastpresented.info}}</ref>

=== Route to Britain ===
[[File:North sea languages 900.png|right|thumb|The approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century around the North Sea. {{legend|#ff0000|[[Old West Norse#Old West Norse|Old West Norse]]}}{{legend|#ff8040|[[Old East Norse]]}}{{legend|#00ff00|other Germanic languages with which Old Norse still retained some mutual intelligibility}}]]

Remnants of a [[Mesolithic]] boatyard have been found on the [[Isle of Wight]]. [[Wheat]] was traded across the Channel about 8,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Balter |first=Michael |date=26 February 2015 |title=DNA recovered from underwater British site may rewrite history of farming in Europe |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-recovered-underwater-british-site-may-rewrite-history-farming-europe |journal=Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Larson |first=Greger |date=26 February 2015 |title=How wheat came to Britain |journal=Science |volume=347 |issue=6225 |pages=945–946 |bibcode=2015Sci...347..945L |doi=10.1126/science.aaa6113 |pmid=25722395 |s2cid=43627086}}</ref> "... Sophisticated social networks linked the [[Neolithic]] front in southern Europe to the [[Mesolithic]] peoples of northern Europe." The [[Ferriby Boats]], [[Hanson Log Boat]]s and the later [[Dover Bronze Age Boat]] could carry a substantial cross-Channel cargo.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Oliver |last2=Momber |first2=Garry |last3=Bates |first3=Richard |last4=Garwood |first4=Paul |date=27 February 2015 |title=Sedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago |journal=Science |volume=347 |issue=6225 |pages=998–1001 |bibcode=2015Sci...347..998S |doi=10.1126/science.1261278 |pmid=25722413 |hdl-access=free |s2cid=1167101 |hdl=10454/9405}}</ref>

[[Diodorus Siculus]] and Pliny<ref>{{Cite web |title=History Compass |url=http://www.history-compass.com/images/store/HICO/chapters/523.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080307064122/http://www.blackwell-compass.com/subject/history/ |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=27 April 2010 |publisher=History Compass}}</ref> both suggest trade between the rebel Celtic tribes of [[Armorica]] and [[Iron Age]] Britain flourished. In 55 BC [[Julius Caesar]] invaded, claiming that the Britons had aided the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] against him the previous year. He was more successful in [[Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain|54 BC]], but Britain was not fully established as part of the [[Roman Empire]] until [[Aulus Plautius]]'s [[Roman conquest of Britain|43 AD invasion]]. A brisk and regular trade began between ports in Roman [[Gaul]] and those in Britain. This traffic continued until the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]] in 410 AD, after which the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|early Anglo-Saxons]] left less clear historical records.

In the power vacuum left by the retreating Romans, the Germanic [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Saxons]], and [[Jutes]] began the next great migration across the North Sea. Having already been used as mercenaries in Britain by the Romans, many people from these tribes crossed during the [[Migration Period]], conquering and perhaps displacing the native [[Celt]]ic populations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany The migration period |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-58084/Germany |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620052057/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-58084/Germany |archive-date=20 June 2008 |access-date=24 July 2007}}</ref>

=== Norsemen and Normans ===
[[File:Hermitage St Helier Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|The Hermitage of [[Helier|St Helier]] lies in the bay off [[Saint Helier]] and is accessible on foot at low tide.]]

The attack on [[Lindisfarne]] in 793 is generally considered the beginning of the [[Viking Age]]. For the next 250&nbsp;years the Scandinavian raiders of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark dominated the North Sea, raiding monasteries, homes, and towns along the coast and along the rivers that ran inland. According to the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' they began to settle in Britain in 851. They continued to settle in the [[British Isles]] and the continent until around 1050, with some raids recorded along the channel coast of England, including at Wareham, Portland, near Weymouth and along the river Teign in Devon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nick Attwood MA |title=The Holy Island of Lindisfarne – The Viking Attack |url=http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/793/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108090618/http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/793/index.htm |archive-date=8 January 2011 |access-date=24 July 2007}}</ref>

The [[Duchy of Normandy|fiefdom of Normandy]] was created for the [[Viking]] leader [[Rollo of Normandy|Rollo]] (also known as Robert of Normandy). Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered [[vassal]]age to the king of the [[Western Francia|West Franks]] [[Charles the Simple]] through the [[Treaty of St.-Claire-sur-Epte]]. In exchange for his [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] and [[fealty]], Rollo legally gained the territory he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance language]] and intermarried with the area's inhabitants and became the [[Normans]] – a [[Norman language|Norman French]]-speaking mixture of [[Scandinavia]]ns, [[Hiberno-Norse]], [[Orkney|Orcadians]], [[Danelaw|Anglo-Danish]], and indigenous [[Franks]] and [[Gauls]].

[[File:BayeuxTapestry39.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Landing in England scene from the [[Bayeux Tapestry]], depicting ships coming in and horses landing]]

Rollo's descendant [[William I of England|William, Duke of Normandy]], became king of England in 1066 in the [[Norman Conquest]] beginning with the [[Battle of Hastings]], while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. In 1204, during the reign of [[John of England|King John]], mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under [[Philip II of France|Philip II]], while insular Normandy (the [[Channel Islands]]) remained under English control. In 1259, [[Henry III of England]] recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|Treaty of Paris]]. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland Normandy.

With the rise of [[William the Conqueror]], the North Sea and Channel began to lose some of their importance. The new order oriented most of England and Scandinavia's trade south, toward the [[Mediterranean]] and the Orient.

Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy and other French possessions in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains the title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for [[Chausey]]) are [[Crown Dependencies]] of the [[The Crown|British Crown]]. Thus the [[Loyal toast]] in the Channel Islands is ''Le roi, notre Duc'' ("The King, our Duke"). The British monarch is understood to ''not'' be the Duke of Normandy in regards of the French region of Normandy described herein, by virtue of the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|Treaty of Paris of 1259]], the surrender of French possessions in 1801, and the belief that the rights of succession to that title are subject to [[Salic Law]] which excludes inheritance through female heirs.

French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the [[Hundred Years' War]] in 1346–1360 and again in 1415–1450.

=== England and Britain: Naval superpower ===
[[File:Elizabeth I Watching Defeat of Spanish Armada by an unknown artist, 16th century.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|The [[Spanish Armada]] off the English coast in 1588]]

From the reign of [[Elizabeth I]], English foreign policy concentrated on preventing invasion across the Channel by ensuring no major European power controlled the potential Dutch and Flemish invasion ports. Her climb to the pre-eminent [[sea power]] of the world began in 1588 as the attempted invasion of the [[Spanish Armada]] was defeated by the combination of outstanding naval tactics by the English and the Dutch under command of [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham]] with [[Francis Drake|Sir Francis Drake]] second in command, and the following stormy weather. Over the centuries the [[Royal Navy]] slowly grew to be the most powerful in the world.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

[[File:La bataille des Cadinaux en novembre 1759.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]] which ended the [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1759)|French invasion plans]] in 1759]]
The building of the [[British Empire]] was possible only because the [[Royal Navy]] eventually managed to exercise unquestioned control over the seas around Europe, especially the Channel and the North Sea. During the [[Seven Years' War]], France attempted to [[Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759)|launch an invasion of Britain]]. To achieve this France needed to gain control of the Channel for several weeks, but was thwarted following the British naval victory at the [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]] in 1759 and was unsuccessful (The last French landing on English soil being in 1690 with a raid on Teignmouth, although the last French raid on British soil was a raid on Fishguard, Wales in 1797).

Another significant challenge to British domination of the seas came during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. The [[Battle of Trafalgar]] took place off the coast of Spain against a combined French and Spanish fleet and was won by Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]], ending [[Napoleon]]'s plans for a cross-Channel invasion and securing British dominance of the seas for over a century.

=== First World War ===
The exceptional strategic importance of the Channel as a tool for blockading was recognised by the First Sea Lord [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|Admiral Fisher]] in the years before [[World War I]]. "Five keys lock up the world! Singapore, the Cape, [[Alexandria]], Gibraltar, Dover."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Geoffrey Miller |url=http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/book3/chapter2.htm |title=The Millstone: Chapter 2 |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716113342/http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/book3/chapter2.htm |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=live}} quoting Fisher, ''Naval Necessities I'', p. 219</ref>  However, on 25 July 1909 [[Louis Blériot]] made the first Channel crossing from [[Calais]] to [[Dover]] in an aeroplane. Blériot's crossing signalled a change in the function of the Channel as a barrier-moat for England against foreign enemies.

Because the ''[[Kaiserliche Marine]]'' surface fleet could not match the British Grand Fleet, the Germans developed [[submarine warfare]], which was to become a far greater threat to Britain.  The [[Dover Patrol]],  set up just before the war started, escorted cross-Channel troopships and prevented submarines from sailing in the Channel, obliging them to travel to the Atlantic via the much longer route around Scotland.

On land, the [[Imperial German Army|German army]] attempted to capture French Channel ports in the [[Race to the Sea]] but although the trenches are often said to have stretched "from the frontier of Switzerland to the English Channel", they reached the coast at the North Sea.  Much of the British war effort in [[Flanders]] was a bloody but successful strategy to prevent the Germans reaching the Channel coast.

At the outset of the war, an attempt was made to block the path of [[U-boat]]s through the Dover Strait with [[naval mine]]fields.  By February 1915, this had been augmented by a {{convert|25|km|mi}} stretch of light steel netting called the [[Dover Barrage]], which it was hoped would ensnare submerged submarines. After initial success, the Germans learned how to pass through the barrage, aided by the unreliability of British mines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First World War.com - Encyclopedia - The Dover Barrage |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/doverbarrage.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918001536/http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/doverbarrage.htm |archive-date=18 September 2012 |access-date=21 September 2012 |website=www.firstworldwar.com}}</ref>  On 31 January 1917, the Germans resumed [[unrestricted submarine warfare]] leading to dire Admiralty predictions that submarines would defeat Britain by November,<ref>{{Cite web |title=U-Boat warfare at the Atlantic during World War I |url=http://www.germannotes.com/hist_ww1_uboat.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080310175335/http://www.germannotes.com/hist_ww1_uboat.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=German Notes }}</ref> the most dangerous situation Britain faced in either world war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cundy |first=Alyssa |date=2015 |title=A "Weapon of Starvation": The Politics, Propaganda, and Morality of Britain's Hunger Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919 |url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2863&context=etd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612192502/https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2863&context=etd |archive-date=12 June 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023}}</ref>

The [[Battle of Passchendaele]] in 1917 was fought to reduce the threat by capturing the submarine bases on the Belgian coast, though it was the introduction of [[convoy]]s and not capture of the bases that averted defeat.  In April 1918 the Dover Patrol carried out the [[Zeebrugge Raid]] against the U-boat bases.  During 1917, the Dover Barrage was re-sited with improved mines and more effective nets, aided by regular patrols by small warships equipped with powerful searchlights.  A German attack on these vessels resulted in the [[Battle of Dover Strait (1917)|Battle of Dover Strait in 1917]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Robert M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_TE_ARPXdMC&q=%22Dover+Barrage%22+1917&pg=PA74 |title=U-Boats Destroyed: The Effect of Anti-Submarine Warfare 1914–1918 |publisher=Periscope Publishing Ltd |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-904381-00-6 |pages=74–75}}</ref>  A much more ambitious attempt to improve the barrage, by installing eight massive concrete towers across the strait was called the [[Admiralty M-N Scheme]] but only two towers were nearing completion at the end of the war and the project was abandoned.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Black Jack'' (Quarterly Magazine Southampton Branch World Ship Society) Issue No: 152 Autumn 2009: (p.6) SHOREHAM TOWERS – One of the Admiralty's greatest engineering secrets, Reproduced from Engineering & Technology IET Magazine May 2009 |url=http://www.sotonwss.org.uk/blackjack/Sep09BJ.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513143827/http://www.sotonwss.org.uk/blackjack/Sep09BJ.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2013 |access-date=21 September 2012}}</ref>

The naval blockade in the Channel and North Sea was one of the decisive factors in the German defeat in 1918.<ref>{{Cite web |title=His Imperial German Majesty's U-boats in WWI: 6. Finale |url=http://uboat.net/history/wwi/part6.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620084637/http://uboat.net/history/wwi/part6.htm |archive-date=20 June 2010 |access-date=13 September 2009 |publisher=uboat.net}}</ref>

=== Second World War ===
[[File:Battle of Britain map.svg|thumb|right|British radar facilities during the [[Battle of Britain]] 1940]]

During the [[World War II|Second World War]], naval activity in the [[European Theatre of World War II|European theatre]] was primarily [[Battle of the Atlantic|limited to the Atlantic]]. During the [[Battle of France]] in May 1940, the [[Wehrmacht|German forces]] succeeded in capturing both [[Battle of Boulogne (1940)|Boulogne]] and [[Siege of Calais (1940)|Calais]], thereby threatening the line of retreat for the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]]. By a combination of hard fighting and German indecision, the port of [[Dunkirk]] was kept open allowing 338,000 Allied troops to be evacuated in [[Operation Dynamo]]. More than 11,000 were evacuated from [[Le Havre]] during [[Operation Cycle]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Operation Cycle, the evacuation from Havre, 10-13 June 1940 |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/operation_cycle.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423063550/http://historyofwar.org/articles/operation_cycle.html |archive-date=23 April 2015 |access-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> and a further 192,000 were evacuated from ports further down the coast in [[Operation Aerial]] in June 1940.<ref>[http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/operation_aerial.html Operation Aerial, the evacuation from north western France, 15–25 June 1940] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016033459/http://historyofwar.org/articles/operation_aerial.html |date=16 October 2012 }}. Historyofwar.org. Retrieved on 29 July 2013.</ref> The early stages of the [[Battle of Britain]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fact File: Battle of Britain |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1057330.shtml?sectionId=2&articleId=1057330 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128175240/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1057330.shtml?sectionId=2&articleId=1057330 |archive-date=28 January 2012 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> featured German air attacks on Channel shipping and ports; despite these early successes against shipping the Germans did not win the [[air supremacy]] necessary for [[Operation Sealion]], the projected cross-Channel invasion.

The Channel subsequently became the stage for an intensive coastal war, featuring submarines, [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]], and [[Fast Attack Craft]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Campaigns of World War II |first=Naval History Homepage |title=Atlantic, WW2, U-boats, convoys, OA, OB, SL, HX, HG, Halifax, RCN ... |url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113180911/http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |archive-date=13 January 2011 |access-date=24 July 2007}}</ref>

The narrow waters of the Channel were considered too dangerous for major warships until the [[Normandy Landings]] with the exception, for the German [[Kriegsmarine]], of the [[Channel Dash]] (Operation Cerberus) in February 1942, and this required the support of the [[Luftwaffe]] in [[Operation Donnerkeil|Operation Thunderbolt]].

[[File:Batterie Les Longues sur Mer - panoramio.jpg|thumb|150 mm Second World War German gun emplacement in Normandy]]
[[File:German World War II tower Jersey.jpg|thumb|As part of the [[Atlantic Wall]], between 1940 and 1945 the occupying [[Wehrmacht|German forces]] and the [[Organisation Todt]] constructed fortifications round the coasts of the Channel Islands, such as this observation tower at Les Landes, Jersey.]]
[[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]] was the site of an ill-fated [[Dieppe Raid]] by Canadian and British armed forces. More successful was the later [[Operation Overlord]] ([[D-Day]]), a massive invasion of [[Nazi Germany|German]]-occupied France by [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] troops. [[Caen]], [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]], [[Carentan]], [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]] and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the fight for the province, which continued until the closing of the so-called [[Falaise pocket|Falaise gap]] between [[Chambois, Orne|Chambois]] and [[Montormel]], then liberation of [[Le Havre]].

The Channel Islands were the only part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] [[German occupation of the Channel Islands|occupied by Germany]] (excepting the part of [[Egypt]] occupied by the [[Afrika Korps]] at the time of the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], which was a protectorate and not part of the Commonwealth). The German occupation of 1940–1945 was harsh, with some island residents being taken for [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|slave labour]] on the Continent; native Jews sent to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]]; [[partisan (military)|partisan]] resistance and retribution; accusations of [[collaborationism|collaboration]]; and slave labour (primarily Russians and eastern Europeans) being brought to the islands to build fortifications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Occupation Memorial HTML Library |url=http://www.thisisjersey.co.uk/hmd/html/organisationtodt.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114235621/http://www.thisisjersey.co.uk/hmd/html/organisationtodt.html |archive-date=14 January 2016 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Thisisjersey.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2013 |title=World War II: British Channel Islands--German Fortifications (1941-43) |url=http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/cou/eng/ci/w2b-cif.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305194320/http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/cou/eng/ci/w2b-cif.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=6 September 2018 |publisher=Historical Boys' Clothing}}</ref> The [[Royal Navy]] blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the [[Invasion of Normandy|liberation of mainland Normandy]] in 1944. Intense negotiations resulted in some [[Red Cross]] humanitarian aid, but there was considerable hunger and privation during the occupation, particularly in the final months, when the population was close to starvation. The German troops on the islands surrendered on 9 May 1945, a day after the final surrender in mainland Europe.

=== English Channel migrant crossings (2018–present)===
{{Main|English Channel migrant crossings (2018–present)}}
[[File:Arrivals by month each year on small boats via the English Channel.svg|thumb|Arrivals by month each year on small boats via the English Channel]]
There is significant public concern in the UK about illegal immigrants coming on small boats from France. Since 2018, the English Channel has seen a major increase in the number of crossings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=Why are migrants in small boats a heated issue in the UK? |url=https://apnews.com/article/uk-migrants-channel-asylum-human-rights-braverman-497fc05aa4056bc3fdb2b5ba381931c1 |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

== Population ==
The English Channel coast is far more densely populated on the English shore. The most significant towns and cities along both the English and French sides of the Channel (each with more than 20,000 inhabitants, ranked in descending order; populations are the urban area populations from the 1999 French census, 2001 UK census, and 2001 [[Jersey]] census) are as follows:
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
;England

* [[Brighton]]–[[Worthing]]–[[Littlehampton]]:<br>461,181 inhabitants, made up of:
** [[Brighton]]: 155,919
** [[Worthing]]: 96,964
** [[Hove]]: 72,335
** [[Littlehampton]]: 55,716
** [[Lancing, West Sussex|Lancing]]–[[Sompting]]: 30,360
* [[Portsmouth]]: 442,252, including
** [[Gosport]]: 79,200
* [[Bournemouth]] & [[Poole]]: 383,713
* [[Southampton]]: 304,400
* [[Plymouth]]: 258,700
* [[Torbay]] ([[Torquay]]): 129,702
* [[Hastings]]–[[Bexhill-on-Sea|Bexhill]]: 126,386
* [[Exeter]]: 119,600
* [[Eastbourne]]: 106,562
* [[Bognor Regis]]: 62,141
* [[Folkestone]]–[[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]]: 60,039
* [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]]: 56,043
* [[Dover]]: 39,078
* [[Walmer]]–[[Deal, Kent|Deal]]: 35,941
* [[Exmouth, Devon|Exmouth]]: 32,972
* [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]]–[[Penryn, Cornwall|Penryn]]: 28,801
* [[Ryde]]: 22,806
* [[St Austell]]: 22,658
* [[Seaford, East Sussex|Seaford]]: 21,851
* [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]]: 21,635
* [[Penzance]]: 20,255
{{col-break}}
;France

* [[Le Havre]]: 248,547 inhabitants
* [[Calais]]: 104,852
* [[Saint-Malo]]: 50,675
* [[Lannion]]–[[Perros-Guirec]]: 48,990
* [[Saint-Brieuc]]: 45,879
* [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]: 42,537
* [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]]: 77,789
* [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]]: 42,202
* [[Morlaix]]: 35,996
* [[Dinard]]: 25,006
* [[Étaples]]–[[Le Touquet-Paris-Plage]]: 23,994
* [[Fécamp]]: 22,717
* [[Eu, Seine-Maritime|Eu]]–[[Le Tréport]]: 22,019
* [[Trouville-sur-Mer]]–[[Deauville]]: 20,406


;Channel Islands
* [[Saint Helier]], [[Jersey]]: 28,310 inhabitants
* [[Saint Peter Port]], [[Guernsey]]: 16,488 inhabitants
* [[Saint Anne, Alderney]]: 2,200 inhabitants
* [[Sark]]: 600 inhabitants
* [[Herm]]: 60 inhabitants
{{col-break}}
[[File:Spinnaker Tower - geograph.org.uk - 1255913.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Spinnaker Tower|Spinnaker (observation) Tower]], [[Portsmouth Harbour]]]]
[[File:Saintmalo.jpg|thumb|The walled city of [[Saint-Malo]] was a stronghold of [[French corsairs|corsairs]].]]
{{col-end}}

== Culture and languages ==
[[File:Norman dictionary 1779 Kelham.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Kelham's ''Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language'' (1779), defining [[Law French]], a language historically used in English law courts]]

The two dominant cultures are English on the north shore of the Channel, French on the south. However, there are also a number of minority languages that are or were found on the shores and islands of the English Channel, which are listed here, with the Channel's name in the specific language following them.

;Celtic languages
: {{langx|br|Mor Breizh}}, Sea of Brittany
: {{langx|kw|Mor Bretannek}}
: {{langx|ga|Muir nIocht}}, Merciful Sea
;Germanic languages
: English
: {{langx|nl|het Kanaal}}, the Channel. (Dutch previously had a larger range, and extended into parts of modern-day France as [[French Flemish]].)
;Romance languages
: {{langx|fr|La Manche}}
: [[Gallo language|Gallo]]: ''Manche'', ''Grand-Mè'', ''Mè Bertone''<ref name="matao">{{Cite book |last=Auffray |first=Régis |title=Le Petit Matao |publisher=Rue des Scribes |year=2007 |isbn=978-2906064645}}</ref>
: [[Norman language|Norman]], including the Channel Island vernaculars:
:* [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] (extinct, but fossilised in certain English law phrases)
:* [[Auregnais]] (extinct)
:* [[Cotentinais]]: ''Maunche''
:* [[Guernésiais]]: {{lang|nrf-GG|Ch'nal}}
:* [[Jèrriais]]: {{lang|nrf-JE|Ch'na}}
:* [[Sercquais]]
: [[Picard language|Picard]]

Most other languages tend towards variants of the French and English forms, but notably [[Welsh language|Welsh]] has {{lang|cy|Môr Udd}}.

== Economy ==
=== Shipping ===
The Channel has traffic on both the UK–Europe and North Sea–Atlantic routes, and is the world's busiest seaway, with over 500 ships per day.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=The Dover Strait, navigation rules |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/the_dover_strait.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831173118/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/the_dover_strait.htm |archive-date=31 August 2010 |access-date=8 October 2008 |publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Following an accident in January 1971 and a series of disastrous collisions with wreckage in February,<ref>{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=History of CNIS |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/history_of_cnis.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208013345/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/history_of_cnis.htm |archive-date=8 February 2011 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]]}}</ref> the Dover TSS,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dover Strait TSS |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_dover_strait_tss_chartlet.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101007103452/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_dover_strait_tss_chartlet.htm |archive-date=7 October 2010 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref> the world's first [[radar]]-controlled [[traffic separation scheme]], was set up by the [[International Maritime Organization]]. The scheme mandates that vessels travelling north must use the French side, travelling south the English side. There is a separation zone between the two lanes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Marine Guide – English Channel |url=http://www.worldmarineguide.com/marina/united-kingdom/uk-south-coast/article-english-channel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026183706/http://www.worldmarineguide.com/marina/united-kingdom/uk-south-coast/article-english-channel |archive-date=26 October 2011 |access-date=5 August 2011}}</ref>

In December 2002 the [[MV Tricolor|MV ''Tricolor'']], carrying £30m of luxury cars, sank {{convert|32|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Dunkirk after collision in fog with the container ship ''Kariba''. The cargo ship ''Nicola'' ran into the wreckage the next day. There was no loss of life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tricolor/Kariba/Clary Incident - Professional Mariner - March 2008 |url=http://www.professionalmariner.com/March-2008/The-Tricolor-Kariba-Clary-Incident/ |access-date=29 May 2020 |website=www.professionalmariner.com|date=21 March 2008 }}</ref>
[[File:Baie-du-Havre 14 07 2005.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|The beach of Le Havre and a part of the rebuilt city]]

The shore-based long-range traffic control system was updated in 2003 and there is a series of traffic separation systems in operation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chartlets published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_dover_strait_tss_chartlet.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101007103452/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_dover_strait_tss_chartlet.htm |archive-date=7 October 2010}}</ref> Though the system is inherently incapable of reaching the levels of safety obtained from aviation systems such as the [[traffic collision avoidance system]], it has reduced accidents to one or two per year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1993-03-29 |title=Airworthiness Approval of Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS II) and Mode S Transponders |url=https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/22190 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622233635/https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/22190 |archive-date=June 22, 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=Federal Aviation Administration}}</ref>

Marine [[GPS]] systems allow ships to be preprogrammed to follow navigational channels accurately and automatically, further avoiding risk of running aground, but following the fatal collision between Dutch Aquamarine and Ash in October 2001, Britain's [[Marine Accident Investigation Branch]] (MAIB) issued a safety bulletin saying it believed that in these most unusual circumstances GPS use had actually contributed to the collision.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Safety Bulletin 2 |url=http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/SB_%202_2001_%20Ash_and_Dutch_Aquamarin.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416131027/http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/SB_%202_2001_%20Ash_and_Dutch_Aquamarin.pdf |archive-date=16 April 2009 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Marine Accident Investigation Branch]]}}</ref> The ships were maintaining a very precise automated course, one directly behind the other, rather than making use of the full width of the traffic lanes as a human navigator would.

A combination of radar difficulties in monitoring areas near cliffs, a failure of a CCTV system, incorrect operation of the anchor, the inability of the crew to follow standard procedures of using a GPS to provide early warning of the ship dragging the anchor and reluctance to admit the mistake and start the engine led to the MV ''Willy'' running aground in [[Cawsand Bay]], [[Cornwall]], in January 2002. The MAIB report makes it clear that the harbour controllers were informed of impending disaster by shore observers before the crew were themselves aware.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2002 |title=Report on the Investigation of the grounding of MV ''Willy'' |url=http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/willy.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416121715/http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/willy.pdf |archive-date=16 April 2009 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Marine Accident Investigation Branch]]}}</ref> The village of [[Kingsand]] was evacuated for three days because of the risk of explosion, and the ship was stranded for 11 days.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 January 2002 |title=Picture gallery: Cornwall's stranded tanker |publisher=BBC |location=London |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1742910.stm |url-status=live |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040411082843/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1742910.stm |archive-date=11 April 2004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2002 |title=Salvage team hunts for leak |publisher=BBC |location=London |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1745945.stm |access-date=1 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 January 2002 |title=Stranded tanker safe in port |publisher=BBC |location=London |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1759670.stm |url-status=live |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030409143424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1759670.stm |archive-date=9 April 2003}}</ref>

=== Ferry ===
[[File:AIS Manche Est.png|thumb|upright=2|[[Automatic identification system]] display showing traffic in the Channel in 2006]]
{{Main|Channel Ports}}

The ferry routes crossing the English Channel, include (have included):-
* [[Port of Dover|Dover]]–[[Calais]]
* Dover–[[Dunkirk]]
* [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]]–[[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]]
* [[Plymouth]]–[[Roscoff]]
* [[Poole]]–[[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]]
* Poole–[[Jersey]] and [[Guernsey]]
* Poole–[[Saint Malo]]
* [[Portsmouth]]–Cherbourg
* Portsmouth–Jersey and Guernsey
* Portsmouth–[[Le Havre]]
* Portsmouth–[[Ouistreham]]
* Portsmouth–Saint Malo
* [[Rosslare Europort|Rosslare]]–Cherbourg
* Rosslare–Roscoff
* [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]]–Saint Malo
*Brighton Marina to Dieppe (using the SeaJet for a 100-minute crossing)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ournewhaven.org.uk/page_id__2375.aspx?path=0p69p87p70p | title=A very short-lived service in 1982. &#124; THE SEAJET &#124; CROSS CHANNEL FERRIES &#124; SHIPS & BOATS &#124; PORT AND HARBOUR &#124; Our Newhaven }}</ref>

=== Channel Tunnel ===
{{main|Channel Tunnel}}

Many travellers cross beneath the Channel using the Channel Tunnel, first proposed in the early 19th century and finally opened in 1994, connecting the UK and France by rail. It is now routine to travel between Paris or [[Brussels]] and London on the [[Eurostar]] train. Freight trains also use the tunnel. Cars, coaches and lorries are carried on [[Eurotunnel Shuttle]] trains between [[Folkestone]] and [[Calais]].

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Le Mont Saint-Michel.jpg|thumb|The [[Mont Saint-Michel]] is one of the most visited and recognisable landmarks on the English Channel.]]

The coastal resorts of the Channel, such as [[Brighton]] and [[Deauville]], inaugurated an era of aristocratic tourism in the early 19th century. Short trips across the Channel for leisure purposes are often referred to as [[Booze cruise|Channel hopping]].

=== Renewable energy ===
The [[Rampion Wind Farm]] is an offshore wind farm located in the Channel, off the coast of [[West Sussex]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rampion |url=https://www.rampionoffshore.com/ |website=Rampion Offshore}}</ref>  Other offshore wind farms planned on the French side of the Channel.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 June 2020 |title=A Fécamp, les travaux du parc éolien en mer vont commencer |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/06/03/a-fecamp-les-travaux-du-parc-eolien-en-mer-vont-commencer_6041600_3234.html |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

== History of Channel crossings ==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2013}}
As one of the narrowest and most well-known international waterways lacking dangerous currents, the Channel has been the first objective of numerous innovative sea, air, and [[human power]]ed crossing technologies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low-Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities — Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-4-sea-level-rise-and-implications-for-low-lying-islands-coasts-and-communities/ |access-date=2023-06-22}}</ref>
Pre-historic people sailed from the mainland to England for millennia. At the end of the [[last glacial period|last Ice Age]], lower sea levels even permitted [[Doggerland|walking across]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Debbie |title=University of Exeter |url=http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/title,89282,en.html |website=humanities.exeter.ac.uk |access-date=3 January 2011 |archive-date=6 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606132746/http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/title_89282_en.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="usask">{{Cite web |title=Patterson, W, "Coastal Catastrophe" (paleoclimate research document), University of Saskatchewan |url=http://geochemistry.usask.ca/bill/courses/Climate/Coastal%20catastrophe%20prt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409025923/http://geochemistry.usask.ca/bill/courses/Climate/Coastal%20catastrophe%20prt.pdf |archive-date=9 April 2008}}</ref>

=== By boat ===

{| class="wikitable"
!width=120|Date
!Crossing
!Participant(s)
!Notes
|-
|  March 1816
| The French paddle steamer ''[[Steam ship Élise|Élise]]'' (ex Scottish-built Margery or Margory) was the first steamer to cross the Channel.
|
|
|-
| 9 May 1816
| Paddle steamer ''Defiance'', Captain William Wager, was the first steamer to cross the Channel to Holland<ref name="Mariner Mirror">{{Cite journal |last=Dawson |first=Charles |date=February 1998 |title=P. S. Defiance, the first steamer to Holland, 9 May 1816 |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |publisher=The Society for Nautical Research |volume=84 |issue=1 |page=84}}</ref>
|
|
|-
| 10 June 1821
| Paddle steamer ''Rob Roy'', first passenger ferry to cross channel
|
| The steamer was purchased subsequently by the French postal administration and renamed ''Henri IV''.
|-
| June 1843
| First ferry connection through Folkestone-Boulogne
|
| Commanding officer [[Captain Hayward]]
|-
|17 March 1864
|Race between a twin-screw steamer and a paddle steamer carrying mail. This race proved the superiority of screw over paddle.
|The ''Atalanta'' Twin-Screw Steamer and the Dover Mail-Packet ''Empress''<ref name="ILN 1864">{{cite news |title=Race between the New Double-Screw Steamer Atalanta and the Dover Mail-Packet Empress |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/HN3100064081/ILN?u=wes_ttda&sid=ILN&xid=a09e07f1 |access-date=26 February 2021 |work=Vol. 44 |issue=1253 |publisher=The Illustrated London News |date=2 April 1864 |page=319}}</ref>
|The Atalanta newly built by Messrs. J. and W. Dudgeon, of Cubitt Town Yard, Millwall, made the trip from to Dover to Calais in 77 minutes; the Empress, owned by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company took 107 minutes.
|-
| 25 July 1959
| Hovercraft crossing (Calais to Dover, 2 hours 3 minutes)
| [[SR-N1]]
| [[Christopher Cockerell|Sir Christopher Cockerell]] was on board
|-
|1960s
|First crossing by [[water skiing|water ski]].
|colspan="2"|The Varne Boat Club ran an annual cross-channel ski race from the 1960s onwards. The race was from the Varne club in Greatstone on Sea to Cap Gris Nez / Boulogne (latter years) and back. Many waterskiers have made this return crossing non-stop since this time.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} Youngest known waterskier to cross the Channel was John Clements aged 10, from the Varne Boat Club on 22 August 1974 who crossed from Littlestone to Boulogne and back without falling.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}
|-
| 22 August 1972
| First solo hovercraft crossing (same route as SR-N1; 2&nbsp;hours 20&nbsp;minutes)<ref>Verifiable in Hovercraft Club of Great Britain Records and Archives</ref>
| Nigel Beale (UK)
|
|-
| 1974
| [[Coracle]] (13 and a half hours)
| Bernard Thomas (UK)
| As part of a publicity stunt, the journey was undertaken to demonstrate how the Bull Boats of the Mandan Indians of North Dakota could have been copied from Welsh coracles introduced by Prince Madog in the 12th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wales on Britannia: Facts About Wales & the Welsh |url=http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts7.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011090450/http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts7.html |archive-date=11 October 2008 |access-date=27 April 2010 |publisher=Britannia.com}}</ref>

|-
| August 1984
| First crossing by [[pedalo]] (8hrs 6mins)
| Ric and Steve Cooper (UK)
| Charity event organized by Littlehampton Rotaract to raise funds for [[Blood Cancer UK|Leukaemia Research]], the [[RNLI]], and other charities in memory of Angie Jones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2022 |title=Littlehampton and Basingstoke join forces for the RNLI |url=https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2022/may/03/littlehampton-and-basingstoke-join-forces-for-the-rnli |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=Royal National Lifeboat Institution}}</ref>
|-
|14 September 1995
|Fastest crossing by [[hovercraft]], 22 minutes by ''Princess Anne''
|MCH SR-N4 MkIII
|Craft was designed as a ferry
|-
| 1997
| First vessel to complete a [[solar-power]]ed crossing using [[photovoltaic cell]]s
| SB ''Collinda''
| —
|-
| 14 June 2004
| New record time for crossing in amphibious vehicle (the [[Gibbs Aquada]], three-seater open-top [[sports car]])
| [[Richard Branson]] (UK)
| Completed crossing in 1 hour 40 minutes 6 seconds – previous record was 6 hours.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
|-
| 26 July 2006
| New record time for crossing in [[hydrofoil]] car (the [[Rinspeed#Splash|Rinspeed Splash]], two-seater open-top [[sports car]])
| Frank M. Rinderknecht (Switzerland)
| Completed crossing in 3 hours 14 minutes<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stuart Waterman |date=27 July 2006 |title=Rinspeed "Splash" sets English Channel record |url=http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/27/rinspeed-splash-sets-english-channel-record/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825093638/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/27/rinspeed-splash-sets-english-channel-record/ |archive-date=25 August 2010 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=Autoblog}}</ref>
|-
| 25 September 2006
| First crossing on a towed inflatable object (not a powered [[inflatable boat]])
| Stephen Preston (UK)
| Completed crossing in 180 min<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inflatable Drag |url=http://www.stupidsteve.co.uk/inflatable.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121000912/http://www.stupidsteve.co.uk/inflatable.html |archive-date=21 November 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008}}</ref>
|-
| July 2007
| BBC ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' presenters "drive" to France in amphibious cars
| [[Jeremy Clarkson]], [[Richard Hammond]], [[James May]] (UK)
| Completed the crossing in a 1996 [[Nissan Hardbody Truck|Nissan D21]] pick-up (the "Nissank"), fitted with a Honda outboard engine.<ref name="imcdb.org">{{Cite web |title=1996 Nissan Truck [D21&#93; in "Top Gear, 2002–2010" |url=http://imcdb.org/vehicle_132991-Nissan-Pickup-D21-1996.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205224138/http://imcdb.org/vehicle_132991-Nissan-Pickup-D21-1996.html |archive-date=5 December 2010 |access-date=27 April 2010 |publisher=IMCDb.org}}</ref>
|-
|20 August 2011
|First crossing by [[diver propulsion vehicle]] (sea scooters)
|A four-man relay team from Scarborough, headed by Heath Samples, crossed from Shakespeare Beach to Wissant.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
|It took 12 hours 26 minutes 39 seconds and set a new Guinness World Record.
|}
Pierre Andriel crossed the English Channel aboard the ''[[Steam ship Élise|Élise]]'', ex the Scottish p.s. "Margery" in March 1816, one of the earliest seagoing voyages by [[steamboat|steam ship]].

The paddle steamer ''Defiance'', Captain William Wager, was the first steamer to cross the Channel to Holland, arriving there on 9 May 1816.<ref name="Mariner Mirror" />

On 10 June 1821, English-built [[paddle steamer]] ''Rob Roy'' was the first passenger ferry to cross channel. The steamer was purchased subsequently by the French postal administration and renamed ''Henri IV'' and put into regular passenger service a year later. It was able to make the journey across the Straits of Dover in around three hours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of the Channel Ferry |url=http://www.sailingandboating.co.uk/history-channel-ferry.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903085647/http://www.sailingandboating.co.uk/history-channel-ferry.html |archive-date=3 September 2011 |access-date=20 January 2009 |website=www.sailingandboating.co.uk}}</ref>

In June 1843, because of difficulties with Dover harbour, the South Eastern Railway company developed the [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]-[[Folkestone]] route as an alternative to Calais-Dover. The first ferry crossed under the command of [[Captain Hayward]].<ref>[http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/ferries.htm Channel ferries & ferry ports] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107214821/http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/ferries.htm |date=7 January 2009 }} ''theotherside.co.uk'', accessed 28 December 2018</ref>

In 1974 a Welsh coracle piloted by Bernard Thomas of Llechryd crossed the English Channel to France in 13{{frac|1|2}} hours. The journey was undertaken to demonstrate how the [[Bull Boat]]s of the [[Mandan]] Indians of [[North Dakota]] could have been copied from coracles introduced by [[Prince Madog]] in the 12th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wales on Britannia: Facts About Wales & the Welsh |url=http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts7.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011090450/http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts7.html |archive-date=11 October 2008 |access-date=6 February 2010 |website=www.britannia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=John |first=Gilbert |date=5 April 2008 |title='Coracle king' to hang up paddle |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7331209.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110084652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7331209.stm |archive-date=10 January 2015 |access-date=10 January 2015 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

The [[Mountbatten class hovercraft]] (MCH) entered commercial service in August 1968, initially between Dover and Boulogne but later also [[Ramsgate]] ([[Pegwell Bay]]) to Calais. The journey time Dover to Boulogne was roughly 35&nbsp;minutes, with six trips per day at peak times. The fastest crossing of the English Channel by a commercial car-carrying hovercraft was 22&nbsp;minutes, recorded by the ''Princess Anne'' MCH SR-N4 Mk3 on 14 September 1995,<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 June 1966 |title=Hovercraft deal opens show |work=BBC News |location=London |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15/newsid_3025000/3025267.stm |url-status=live |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223224314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15/newsid_3025000/3025267.stm |archive-date=23 December 2010}}</ref>

=== By air ===
{{Main|List of English Channel crossings by air}}
The first aircraft to cross the Channel was a [[balloon (aircraft)|balloon]] in 1785, piloted by [[Jean-Pierre Blanchard|Jean Pierre François Blanchard]] (France) and [[John Jeffries]] (US).<ref name="EB">"[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9015591 Blanchard, Jean-Pierre-François]." {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203094306/https://academic.eb.com/ |date=3 December 2022 }}. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Online. Retrieved 17 October 2009.</ref>

[[Louis Blériot]] (France) piloted the first aeroplane to cross in 1909.

On 26 September 2008, Swiss [[Yves Rossy]] aka ''Jetman'' became the first person to cross the English Channel with a [[Jet-powered wingsuit|Jet Powered Wing]],
He jumped from a [[Pilatus Porter]] over [[Calais, France]], Rossy crossed the English Channel where he deployed his parachute and landed in [[Dover]]<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Randerson |first1=James |date=26 September 2008 |title=Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/26/aeronautics }}</ref>

The first [[flying car]] to have crossed the English Channel is a Pégase designed by the French company Vaylon on 14 June 2017. It was piloted by a Franco-Italian pilot Bruno Vezzoli. This crossing was carried out as part of the first road and air trip from Paris to London in a flying car. Pegase is a 2 seats road approved dune buggy and a [[Paramotor|powered paraglider]]. The takeoff was at 8:03&nbsp;a.m. from [[Ambleteuse]] in the North of France and landing was at East Studdal, near Dover. The flight was completed in 1 hour and 15 minutes for a total distance covered of {{Convert|72.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} including {{Convert|33.3|km|mi|abbr=on}} over the English Channel at an altitude of {{convert|1240|m|ft}} .<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paris |first=Charles Bremner |title=Frenchman flies a car to Dover |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/frenchman-flies-a-car-to-dover-03jdz98ks |access-date=5 August 2020 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

On 12 June 1979, the first [[human-powered aircraft]] to cross the English Channel was the ''[[Gossamer Albatross]]'', built by American [[aeronautical engineer]] Dr. [[Paul B. MacCready]]'s company [[AeroVironment]], and piloted by [[Bryan Allen (hang glider)|Bryan Allen]]. The {{convert|35.7|km|adj=on|mi|abbr=on}} crossing was completed in 2 hours and 49 minutes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gossamer Albatross|url=https://www.avinc.com/about/gossamer_albatross/|publisher=AeroVironment, Inc|access-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref>

On 4 August 2019, Frenchman [[Franky Zapata]] became the first person to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered [[Flyboard Air]]. The board was powered by a kerosene-filled backpack. Zapata made the {{Convert|35.4|km|mi|abbr=on}} journey in 22 minutes, having landed on a boat half-way across to refuel.<ref>{{Cite news |title=From France to the UK by flyboard |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-49226353/man-crosses-english-channel-by-flyboard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804124419/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-49226353/man-crosses-english-channel-by-flyboard |archive-date=4 August 2019 |access-date=4 August 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== By swimming ===
{{Main|List of successful English Channel swimmers}}
The sport of Channel swimming traces its origins to the latter part of the 19th century when Captain [[Matthew Webb]] made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24–25 August 1875 in 21&nbsp;hours 45&nbsp;minutes.

Up to 1927, fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, [[Gertrude Ederle]] in 1926) had managed to successfully swim the English Channel, and many dubious claims had been made. The Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by two separate organisations: CSA Ltd (CSA) and the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CSPF), both observe and authenticate cross-Channel swims in the Strait of Dover.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation - What is the CS&PF |url=http://cspf.co.uk/ |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation}}</ref>  The Channel Crossing Association was also set up to cater for unorthodox crossings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regulations {{!}} Channel Swimming Association |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim-advice/regulations |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.channelswimmingassociation.com |language=en}}</ref>

The team with the most Channel swims to its credit is the [[The Serpentine|Serpentine]] Swimming Club in London,<ref>serpentineswimmingclub.com {{Cite web |title=Serpentine Swimming Club |url=http://serpentineswimmingclub.com/long-distance-swimmers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912055658/http://serpentineswimmingclub.com/long-distance-swimmers/ |archive-date=12 September 2015 |access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref> followed by the international [[Sri Chinmoy]] Marathon Team.<ref>srichinmoyraces.org {{Cite web |title=Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team |url=http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/channel/channel_swimmers/channel_swimmers_list |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317091724/http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/channel/channel_swimmers/channel_swimmers_list |archive-date=17 March 2009 |access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref>

As of 2023, 1,881 people had completed 2,428 verified solo crossings under the rules of the CSA and the CSPF.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Channel swimming facts and statistics {{!}} Dover.UK.com |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/statistics |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=www.dover.uk.com}}</ref> This includes 24 two-way crossings and three three-way crossings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation - Solo Swims Statistics |url=http://cspf.co.uk/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation}}</ref>

It is governed by International Law as described in ''Unorthodox Crossing of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unorthodox Crossing of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme |url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_all-sar_cnis_unorthodox_crossings.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202020122/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/dops_-_all-sar_cnis_unorthodox_crossings.htm |archive-date=2 February 2011 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]]}}</ref> It states: "[In] exceptional cases the French Maritime Authorities may grant authority for unorthodox craft to cross French territorial waters within the Traffic Separation Scheme when these craft set off from the British coast, on condition that the request for authorisation is sent to them with the opinion of the British Maritime Authorities."

The fastest verified swim of the Channel was by the Australian [[Trent Grimsey]] on 8 September 2012, in 6 hours 55 minutes,<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 September 2012 |title=Trent Grimsey breaks channel swim record |url=http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/trent-grimsey-breaks-channel-swim-record-20120909-25lsh.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065958/http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/trent-grimsey-breaks-channel-swim-record-20120909-25lsh.html |archive-date=9 November 2012 |access-date=13 September 2012 |website=The Age}}</ref><ref name=records>{{Cite web |title=Channel swimming records - Dover.UK.com |url=http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/records.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817175330/http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/records.php |archive-date=17 August 2012 |access-date=13 September 2012 |website=www.dover.uk.com}}</ref> beating a swim of 2007.  The female record is held by [[Yvetta Hlavacova]] of Czechia, on 7 hours, 25 minutes on 5 August 2006.<ref name=records/> Both records were from England to France.<ref name=records/>

There may have been some unreported swims of the Channel, by people intent on entering Britain in circumvention of immigration controls.  A failed attempt to cross the Channel by two Syrian refugees in October 2014 came to light when their bodies were discovered on the shores of the North Sea in Norway and the Netherlands.<ref>{{Citation |last=Fjellberg |first=Anders |title=The Wetsuitmen |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/spesial/vatdraktmysteriet/eng/ |year=2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728074722/http://www.dagbladet.no/spesial/vatdraktmysteriet/eng/ |access-date=25 July 2015 |archive-date=28 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== By car ===
On 16 September 1965, two [[Amphicar]]s crossed from Dover to Calais.<ref>Autocar article entitled Cars Ahoy published 10 December 1965</ref>

=== Other types ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Date
!Crossing
!Participant(s)
!Notes
|-
| 17 October 1851
| First submarine cable for telegraph across the Channel in September laid from [[St Margaret's at Cliffe|St. Margaret's Bay]], England to [[Sangatte]], France (commonly referred to as the Dover to Calais cable)
| [[Thomas Russell Crampton]] (engineer), financed by [[Charlton James Wollaston]] in a private partnership with others, entitled "Wollaston et Compagnie".
| The first international [[submarine cable]] in the world, in use until 1859. 21 nautical miles distance needed 24 + 1 n. miles of cable spliced.<ref>[http://distantwriting.co.uk/competitorsallies.aspx The European & American Electric Type-Printing Telegraph Company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206224601/http://distantwriting.co.uk/competitorsallies.aspx |date=6 December 2012 }} distantwriting.co.uk, retrieved 14 August 2019.</ref>
|-
| 27 March 1899
| First radio transmission across the Channel (from [[Wimereux]] to [[South Foreland Lighthouse]])
| [[Guglielmo Marconi]] (Italy)
|
|}

[[PLUTO]] was a war-time fuel delivery project of "pipelines under the ocean" from England to France. Though plagued with technical difficulties during the Battle of Normandy, the pipelines delivered about 8% of the fuel requirements of the Allied forces between D-Day and VE-Day.

== See also ==
{{Portal|England|France|Europe|Geography}}
* [[English Channel migrant crossings (2018–present)]]
* [[France–UK border]]
* [[Anguilla Channel]]
* [[Booze cruise]]
* [[Guadeloupe Passage]]
* [[Invasions of the British Isles]]
* [[List of firsts in aviation]]
* [[Phoenix breakwaters]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Ernle Bradford|Bradford, Ernle]]. ''Wall of England: The Channel's 2000 Years of History'' (Country Life, 1966)
* [[Peter Unwin|Unwin, Peter]]. ''The Narrow Sea: Barrier, Bridge and Gateway to the World. The History of the English Channel'' (Headline, 2003)
* Williamson, J. A. ''The English Channel: A History'' (Collins, 1959)

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage|Ferry routes to British Mainland}}
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/  Full Channel swim lists and swimmer information]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/aaEng/ortelius_anglia-epitome-det3_1595.jpg Oceanus Britannicus or British Sea]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060614050912/http://www.thechannelswimmers.com/ Channel swimmers website]}}
* [http://www.soloswims.com Archives of long distance swimming]
* [http://www.channelswimming.net/ Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation]
* [http://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/ Channel Swimming Association]
* [http://www.readagainbooks.com/airbattleovertheenglishchannel.htm World War II Eye Witness Account – Audio Recording] Air Battle over the English Channel (1940)

{{List of seas}}
{{Borders of the United Kingdom}}
{{Borders of France}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English Channel| ]]
[[Category:English coast]]
[[Category:European seas]]
[[Category:France–United Kingdom border]]
[[Category:Geography of Europe]]
[[Category:Landforms of Brittany]]
[[Category:Landforms of Normandy]]
[[Category:Landforms of Hauts-de-France]]
[[Category:Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of the North Sea]]
[[Category:Bays of England]]
[[Category:Bays of Metropolitan France]]
[[Category:Southern England]]
[[Category:Glacial lake outburst floods]]
[[Category:Megafloods]]
[[Category:Oceans Seven swims]]