Neptune's Needle

Arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.350 miles long, bet. France and Great Britain. It is 112 miles wide at its W entrance, bet. Land’s End, England, and Ushant, France. Its greatest width, c.150 miles is bet. Lyme Bay and the Gulf of St.-Malo; bet. Dover and Cape Gris-Nez it is 21 miles wide. At the E end, the Strait of Dover connects the Channel with the North Sea. Principal islands are the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. Westerly winds prevail and the tides are semidiurnal, with tricky intervals that sometimes produce double tides. Tidal currents are similarly pronounced and irregular.

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Compiler

Peter Richards