In this article, I will take you through 40 Questions on English Channel that you should definitely know about. English channel located between France and England is one of the busiest shipping area in the World. As it's a busiest shipping area, it also suffers the environmental problems like oil leakage and release of toxic substances from Ships. The Channel played a critical role in many naval wars as well as on other wars including the Napoleonic wars and World Word II. The Channel is of geologically recent origin, having been dry land for most of the Pleistocene period. We will see some very important questions about the Channel in below section.

40 Questions on English Channel You Should Know About

Also Read: 24 Important Questions and Answers about the Golden Gate Bridge

1. How wide is the English channel ?

Ans. According to the Channel Swimming Association, the English Channel is about 21 miles wide.

2. How long is the English channel ?

Ans. It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles; 350 statute miles) long.

3. Where is the English channel located ?

Ans. The English Channel is located between the Isle of Great Britain’s southern coast and France’s northern coast and separated from the North Sea on the north by the Strait of Dover.

4. How deep is the English channel ?

Ans. The English Channel is a shallow waterway with a maximum depth of 174 m.

5. Who was the first woman to swim the English channel ?

Ans. Gertrude Ederle, at the age of 20 became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

6. Where does the English channel begin and end ?

Ans. English Channel, also called The Channel, French La Manche, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover.

7. How long does it take to cross the English channel ?

Ans. The time it takes to cross is dependent on the speed of the swimmer. So it might take anywhere between 7 to 27 hours to swim across.

8. How many people have swam the English channel ?

Ans. As of the end of 2020, 2,157 individuals had completed the swim.

9. What is the average depth of the English channel ?

Ans. It is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m (390 ft) at its widest part.

10. How deep is the English channel tunnel ?

Ans. At its deepest, the tunnel is 75 meters (246 feet) below the sea level.

11. How long is the tunnel under the English channel ?

Ans. The Channel Tunnel is 31.5 miles long or 50.45 km.

12. Who was the first man to swim the English channel ?

Ans. Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain becomes the first man to successfully swim the English Channel.

13. What is the geographical significance of the English channel ?

Ans. Since English channel separates out England from France and all continental Europe, so it acts both as a route and a barrier.

14. Which is the narrowest point of English Channel ?

Ans. The Strait of Dover is the Channel’s narrowest point.

15. What do the French call the English channel ?

Ans. The French call it La Manche, or the sleeve, also called simply the channel.

16. Are there sharks in the English Channel ?

Ans. No, there are no sharks in the English Channel.

17. Who is the oldest person to swim the English Channel ?

Ans. Otto Thaning, a 73-year-old South African heart surgeon is the oldest person to swim the English Channel.

18. Is there a tunnel under the English Channel ?

Ans. Yes, there is a rail tunnel between England and France that runs beneath the English Channel.

19. Who is the youngest person to swim the English Channel ?

Ans. Tom Gregory at the age of 11 became the youngest person ever to swim the English Channel.

20. What did Romans called the English Channel ?

Ans. In ancient Roman times, the channel was called Oceanus Britannius and up until around 1549 it was called the British Sea.

21. Can you see Britain from France ?

Ans. On a clear day, it is possible to see the opposite coastline of England from France with the naked eye.

22. Can you see France from Britain ?

Ans. As explained in previous question, on a clear day it is possible to see vice-versa as well with the naked eye.

23. Who is the youngest female to swim the English Channel ?

Ans. Leonore Modell, 14year‐old schoolgirl from Sacramento, California is the youngest female to swim the English Channel.

24. When was the English channel tunnel built ?

Ans. It was officially opened on 6th May 1994.

25. Can you cross the English channel by car ?

Ans. It is not possible to drive a car or motorcycle through the Channel Tunnel.

26. Is the English channel a river ?

Ans. No, it is an arm of the Atlantic ocean but it has lot of rivers inflows.

27. Which are the primary Inflows of the English Channel ?

Ans. Below rivers are the primary inflows of the English channel:-

• River Exe Seine
• River Test
• River Tamar Somme

28. What are the outflows of the English Channel ?

Ans. There is an overall water flow through the English Channel to the North Sea, with complete replacement taking about 500 days.

29. Is English Channel visible from Space ?

Ans. It is not visible directly through naked eye. One has to use the satellite view.

30. How much traffic English Channel carries daily ?

Ans. More than 500 ships pass through the channel daily.

31. How many persons died trying to cross the English Channel ?

Ans. In a recent incident, atleast 27 people died trying to cross the Channel in one of the very worst disaster. In the past, there were some more deaths recorded as well in various incidents apart from the casualties that happens during the war fought on the channel.

32. Which is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe ?

Ans. English Channel

33. Where is the dominant population located around the English Channel ?

Ans. The predominant population located on the English coast.

34. Which major languages are spoken around English Channel ?

Ans. The major languages spoken in this region are French and English.

35. What is the best time to swim across the English Channel ?

Ans. The best time is during the Channel swimming season which is usually between late June to the end of September.

36. What are the rules set for swimming across the English Channel ?

Ans. Below are the following rules which needs to be adhered to swim across the channel:-

• Wear one swimming hat, a pair of goggles and standard issue swimming costume.
• No neoprene is allowed.
• You must start on land where the observer can see you standing on land and not in water.
• You must finish on land where the observer can see you standing on land and not in water.
• You are not allowed touch the boat at any time, this includes whilst swimming and whilst feeding

37. Where does the English Channel got its name ?

Ans. By the middle of the fifteenth century an Italian map based on Ptolemy's description named the sea as Britanicus Oceanus nunc Canalites Anglie (British Ocean but now English Channel). The map is possibly the first recorded use of the term English Channel. More on wikipedia.

38. Which are the main islands in English Channel ?

Ans. There are several islands in the English Channel in which most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast, and the Channel Islands, British Crown Dependencies off the coast of France.

39. Which was the first steamboat to carry out a cross-channel crossing ?

Ans. William Murdoch's The Caledonia was the first steamboat to carried out a cross-channel crossing.

40. Which team has the most number of channel swims to its credits ?

Ans. The team with the most number of Channel swims to its credit is the International Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team with 35 crossings by 25 members (by 2005).