What is the difference between the strait and the bay? Strait Devils: location, features

How is the bay different from the strait? At first glance, the difference is seen in the terms themselves. The strait must connect two or more water bodies separated by a relatively narrow part of the land. The bay, in theory, should not have access to another aquatorium. Is it really? Is this only the difference between the Davis Strait and the nearby Bay of Cumberland? There is a sense to understand.

Bays

Depending on the nature of the location, several types are distinguished: harbors and bays, lips and fjords, estuaries, lagoons and estuaries. It should be noted that the bays can refer to different water areas: oceans, rivers, seas or lakes. All these objects seem to cut into the mainland and have a different origin. Some are formed by tides and currents, while others arose during the formation of continents: the movement of tectonic plates, rock formation, volcanic activity.

Depending on the terrain, climatic conditions, tides, currents of feeding rivers, the bays can have different characteristics. Essentially, their water regime, depth, current velocity, water composition can differ. The gulfs are sometimes separated from the main water body by washbred spits and temporary or temporary overflows.

Straits

These objects are conventionally distinguished from the "body" of the seas and oceans. A strait is a comparatively narrow part of a water body dividing land: two continents or one part and an adjacent island. Another feature - the strait connects the neighboring seas or oceans.

If we compare how the Cumberland Bay and Davis Strait are located, the difference between them is clearly visible. The first has no other outlet to the water body, except for the border with the Labrador Sea. At the same time, the comparable Davis Strait connects 2 oceans. One part of the water area is bordered by the Labrador Sea, which is located in the Atlantic. And the Baffin Sea, with which the Davis Strait connects its other boundary, refers to the Arctic Ocean.

Classification and features

Despite the fact that the straits are compared with narrow paths from one water body to another, this characteristic is very conventional. The strait of the straits in the narrowest part has a width of 338 km, which is almost 5 times higher than the parameters of the Cumberland Bay. But this indicator is not determinative. The main role is given to the flow of the water body under consideration (it must connect two different basins).

The strait, as a rule, has a natural origin. If the land between the two adjacent reservoirs was "opened" for the passage of water artificially, then such "paths" are called canals. An important characteristic of the straits is their navigability. And it depends on the depth. The Davis strait is quite accessible by this indicator, but icebergs and drifting ice floes are often found there, which can pose a threat to the ships. In addition to the depth, the greatest and the smallest width, even during the characterization, the direction of the flow and its velocity are taken into account.

Devis Strait: history and features

The name was given in honor of an outstanding navigator. The Englishman John Davies as early as 1583 discovered and explored part of the coast of Baffin land and the territory of Greenland. At that time, he made several dangerous trips between the two coasts in a severe climate. At present, there are data that there are deposits of natural gas and oil on the territory of the strait.

Where the Davis Strait is located relative to the maritime boundaries has already been determined. It remains to find out which coast he shares? On the one hand, it is Baffin's land (the east coast, the territory of Canada), and on the other - the southwestern part of Greenland.

The height of the tidal wave in the region under consideration can be in the range of 9-18 m. What else is necessary to know about the Davis Strait? Its length, according to statistics, is 1170 kilometers. The greatest width is 950 km. The deepest point is determined - a mark of 3,660 m (according to other data 3,730 m) below sea level, the smallest section of the strait is 104 meters.