Straits Trivia

1. The famed English romantic poet Lord Byron swam from Europe to Asia across which most westerly of the Turkish straits?

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Answer: Hellespont

Upon completion of what would appear to be the first recorded open water swim in modern times across the strait now known as the Dardanelles, Byron penned "Written After Swimming from Sestos to Abydos". The poem recalled Leander's nightly crossing of the selfsame strait to be with his beloved Hero. Byron completed the four mile swim on May 3, 1810 at the age of 22. It was an exceedingly proud moment, if his words give any indication: "I plume myself on this achievement more than I could possibly do on any kind of glory, poetical, political or rhetorical." Indeed, he was still boasting about it in "Don Juan" nine years later: "He could, perhaps have passed the Hellespont, as once (a feat on which ourselves we prided) Leander, Mr. Ekenhead, and I did". The Hellespont was named after the legendary Helle, who fell into the strait and drowned while escaping from Ino on a golden-fleeced ram with her brother Phrixus. Situated in northwestern Turkey, the strait forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia. Along with the Bosporus, the narrow waterway has enormous commercial and military importance allowing passage from the Aegean Sea up to the Black Sea.

From Quiz Let's Get a Few Things Strait

Answer: Menai Strait

This strait is crossed by bridges twice and a stretch of the waterway between the two is a notably dangerous area called The Swellies. It is known for whirlpools and surges. An annual swimming race takes place across the Menai Strait, from the island of Anglesey to Caernarfon on the Welsh mainland, and is about a mile-long swim.

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Great Britain

Pas de Calais is the French equivalent of the Strait of Dover. While the English name comes from the town of Dover in England, the French comes from the town of Calais, France which is closest to the strait on the European mainland. The strait is the shortest distance between the two land masses and often chosen as the site for swimming across the English Channel.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1520.

From Quiz Straits of the World

Answer: Marmara

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Answer: The Skagerrak

The Skagerrak runs between the southern coasts of Norway and Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark. It has at times been the only passage between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea (by extension through the Kattegat sea area), and remains one of the most trafficked commercial shipping routes in the world. Historically, the Skagerrak was strategically significant to Germany in both World War I and World War II. The Battle of Jutland, also known as the Battle of Skagerrak, was the largest naval conflict in World War I. The Drake Passage extends from the Antarctic South Shetland Islands and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at Cape Horn. The Bering Strait runs between Russia and Alaska and links up the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Kvarken separates the Bothnian Bay from the Bothnian Sea between Finland and Sweden.

From Quiz Let's Get a Few Things Strait

Answer: Antarctica

Despite being a rough passageway, the Drake Passage (or Sea of Hoces) is a preferred southern route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans because of the narrowness of the only other available routes. These are the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel, which can be icebound or hard to maneuver in during strong winds. Though "Drake Passage" is named for the English navigator Sir Francis Drake who passed through it in the late 16th century, it is thought that the crew of Spanish navigator Francisco de Hoces could have made the same voyage 50 years earlier. Thus, Latin American sources sometimes refer to it as "Mar de Hoces", meaning "Sea of Hoces".

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Isle of Wight

The Solent separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England and averages a width of 3-6 km (2-4 mi). It faces the estuary called Southampton Water, to the north of which the city of Southampton lies. The ferry company Hovertravel operates a passenger hovercraft which crosses the Solent on its route between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. The trip offers the quickest journey across the strait, taking less than ten minutes.

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Answer: Bering Strait

The Bering Strait separates Siberia from Alaska. Perhaps some especially hardy Asians (it's awfully cold up there) crossed there and became the ancestors of North American and South American native peoples, more than 20,000 years back.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

From Quiz Straits of the World

Answer: Taiwan

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Answer: Between the North and South Islands of New Zealand

Situated between New Zealand's two main landmasses, Cook Strait connects the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It is the namesake of British explorer Captain James Cook, who navigated its waters in 1770. Thanks in part to unusual tidal flow and complicated submarine topography, it is highly unpredictable and consequently extremely dangerous.

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Bass & Bass Strait

Bass Strait has seen the losses of several planes, ships, and people over time which have sometimes been given supernatural explanations, earning it the nickname "Bass Strait Triangle". This area was also the location of perhaps the most famous UFO-related incident in Australia. Twenty year old Frederick Valentich was piloting a small aircraft in the area when he reported to Melbourne air traffic control that he had spotted an aircraft which he could not identify and which seemed to be approaching him. After reporting that this aircraft was hovering over him, it is said that unexplained "metallic, scraping sounds" were heard before contact with Valentich was lost. Neither aircraft nor pilot were ever found, spawning theories ranging from the sad to the strange. Some explanations state the possibility that an extraterrestrial vehicle abducted the pilot or destroyed the plane. Others, which doubt this UFO theory, suggest that Frederick Valentich may have staged his disappearance or his suicide, or even that he became disoriented and crashed into the water.

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Answer: Krakatoa

The two large islands are Sumatra and Java, and Sunda Strait is a major passage between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In 1883 an eruption of Krakatoa produced one of the largest explosions ever experienced on Earth--one which destroyed much of Krakatau island, sent a cloud of ash and dust all around the world, and killed at least 36,000 people locally.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Cook Strait

The Cook Strait is called Raukawa in Maori language. It was discovered by the English explorer James Cook in 1770.

From Quiz Let's Get a Few Things Strait

Answer: Otranto

The Strait of Otranto, between Italy and Albania to be specific, takes its name from the Italian town of Otranto. Located on the Salento peninsula (or Italy's boot heel), Otranto is home to the easternmost point of mainland Italy, marked by the lighthouse "Faro della Palascia". The town also lends its name to what is considered the first gothic novel, "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole, written in 1764.

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Russia & Russian Federation

The Kara Strait is found to the south of the Novaya Zemlya ("New Land") archipelago and shares its name with the Kara Sea, which it separates from the Barents Sea north of mainland Russia. The 7.3 km (4.5 mi) wide Strait of Tartary separates the island of Sakhalin from Russia's mainland. Peterhof Palace collectively refers to the gardens and palaces in St. Petersburg built in the 18th century at the orders of Peter the Great. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is sometimes called the "Russian Versailles". Among the sites at this area are impressive fountains adorned with statues and the Peterhof Grand Palace, in which one room, the Picture Hall, has its walls almost completely covered with a total of 368 paintings.

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Answer: Iranian

Iran is on the north, and the United Arab Emirates and a bit of Oman are on the south side of the Strait of Hormuz.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Makassar Strait

The Makassar Strait connects the Celebes (Sulawesi) Sea with the Java Sea.

From Quiz Straits of the World

Answer: Messina

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Answer: Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar links the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and runs between Gibraltar and mainland Spain on the European side and Morocco and the Spanish autonomous city Ceuta on the African side. There are only 14 kilometers (9 miles) separating Europe from Africa at the narrowest point of the passage. "The Pillars of Hercules" refer to the Rock of Gibraltar and a North African peak, the identity of which has long been a matter of dispute.

From Quiz Let's Get a Few Things Strait

Answer: Cook & Cook Strait

Cook Strait was once called Zeehaen's Bight, after a ship in the expedition of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who had mistaken it for a bight, or bay, in 1642. By 1769, Captain James Cook discovered that it was actually a navigable waterway. A dolphin by the name of Pelorus Jack became famous between 1888 and 1912 for escorting ships across the strait. There was an attempt on his life which led to his being protected by New Zealand law passed in 1904.

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Arthur Kill

These bodies of water surround Staten Island in a more or less clockwise direction starting with Newark Bay to the north of the island. The Narrows is the area between Staten Island and the borough of Brooklyn where the two are closest. This is where the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (once the world's longest suspension bridge) connects them. "Arthur Kill" is the anglicized name for the Dutch "achter kill", meaning "back channel". It is the strait between Staten Island and the mainland of the country, particularly the state of New Jersey. Dutch influence in the area has made Staten Island sound like a scary place to an English speaker, what with places like Arthur Kill Road and the Great Kills neighborhood.

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Answer: Asia and Europe

It's Turkey on both sides of The Bosphorus--in fact, the city of Istanbul straddles this strait.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Sunda Strait

In the center of the Sunda Strait is the volcanic island of Krakatau. Its eruption in 1883 was the most violent of modern times. Tidal waves killed 36.000 people in Java and Sumatra.

From Quiz Let's Get a Few Things Strait

Answer: Hokkaido & Honshu

The Tsugaru Strait shares its name with the Tsugaru Peninsula, which projects into the strait from the northern tip of the island Honshu. It is from this peninsula to the island of Hokkaido that the 53.85 km (33.46 mi) Seikan Tunnel runs at a maximum depth of 240 m (790 ft) below sea level. It is the world's deepest operational rail tunnel and the longest in the world until the opening of Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland in the year 2016.

From Quiz Just the Strait Facts

Answer: Little Belt (Lillebælt)

The term "belt" is unique to the Danish straits and not used for any other strait in the world. Both the Little Belt and Great Belt are within Denmark, while the Oresund strait is also bordered by Sweden. The Fehmarn Belt is between the Danish island Lolland and the German island Fehmarn. The Oresund, as a passage from the Baltic to, eventually, the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the busiest waterways in the world.

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Answer: Gulf of Mexico

One one side is Cuba, on the other is the southern tip of Florida and the string of islands called the Florida Keys.

From Quiz Straits All Over the World

Answer: Soya Strait

The Soya Strait is about 40 km wide.

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Answer: Denmark Strait

Also known as Greenland Strait, the waterway connects the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. A maritime skirmish known as the Battle of Denmark Strait took place there during World War II. During the battle, the German battleship Bismarck sank the HMS Hood, a British battlecruiser. The Bismarck was destroyed three days later after passing into the Atlantic.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:51 AM

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