The
English Channel is the body of water that separates the
island of
Great Britain from northern
France, and the
Atlantic Ocean from the
North Sea.
In
French it is called
La Manche ("the sleeve").
It is about 350 miles long and at its widest is
240 km (150 miles).
The narrowest point is only
34 km (21 miles) at Dover to Cape Gris-Nez.
The first person to swim the channel was Matthew Webb in 1875.
In 1909, Louis Bleriot from France was the first person to fly over the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft.
In 1994 the channel tunnel was finished making it possible to go from France to England on the Eurostar train.
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)