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Strait of Gibraltar facts for kids

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Strait of Gibraltar
A satellite image of a narrow strip of water separating two land masses
The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space.
The Iberian Peninsula is on the left and North Africa is on the right.
Strait of Gibraltar is located in North Atlantic
Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
Location in North Atlantic
Location Atlantic Ocean – Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates 35°58′N 5°29′W / 35.967°N 5.483°W / 35.967; -5.483
Type Strait
Native name
  • مضيق جبل طارق  (Arabic)
  • Strait of Gibraltar  (British English)
  • Estrecho de Gibraltar  (Spanish)
Basin countries
Min. width 13 km (8.1 mi)
Max. depth 900 metres (2,953 ft)

The Strait of Gibraltar (Arabic: مضيق جبل طارق, romanized: Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; Spanish: [Estrecho de Gibraltar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa.

The two continents are separated by 14.3 kilometres (8.9 miles; 7.7 nautical miles) of ocean at the Strait's narrowest point. The Strait's depth ranges between 300 and 900 metres (980 and 2,950 feet; 160 and 490 fathoms) which possibly interacted with the lower mean sea level of the last major glaciation 20,000 years ago when the level of the sea is believed to have been lower by 110–120 m (360–390 ft; 60–66 fathoms). Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes. The Spanish side of the Strait is protected under El Estrecho Natural Park.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Estrecho de Gibraltar para niños

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