Great Belt
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Great Belt | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°19′59″N 11°00′00″E / 55.333°N 11.000°E |
Type | strait |
Basin countries | Denmark |
Max. length | 60 km (37 mi) |
Max. width | 32 km (20 mi) |
Min. width | 16 km (10 mi) |
Max. depth | 60 m (197 ft) |
Islands | Samsø in the north and Langeland to the south |
The Great Belt (Danish: Storebælt, pronounced [ˈstoːɐˌpelˀt]) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (Sjælland) and Funen (Fyn) in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits.
Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the
Geography
The Great Belt is the largest and most important of the three Danish Straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait and Atlantic Ocean. The others are the Øresund and the Little Belt straits.
The Great Belt is 60 km (37 miles) long and 16–32 km (10–20 miles) wide. It flows around two major islands:
Geology
In pre-glacial times a river, which the Baltic Sea basin then contained and which geologists call the Eridanos, must have passed near the region as the rise of South Swedish Dome in Neogene times diverted it south from its previous path across central Sweden.[1]
The Great Belt originated as Dana River that was eroded into existence 9000–8900 years ago when post-glacial rebound made the Ancylus Lake that occupied the Baltic depression lose its outlets around Gothenburg tipping over in the south.[2] The forming of the Dana River is thought to have caused a dramatic erosion of sediments, peatlands and forests along its way. This led initially to a relatively rapid fall in the lake level over hundreds of years to then continue falling at a lower pace.[2] Rising sea levels allowed the sea to break through the Dana River forming the Great Belt as a proper seaway. In the processes the Ancylus Lake became the Littorina Sea as salt water entered the Baltic depression.[2]
Biology
The Great Belt is home to some popular fish: flatfish, sea trout, Atlantic cod, Atlantic mackerel and garfish, which are fished avidly for sport and for sale. A large and rising population of harbour porpoises lives in the Belts.[3]
International waterway
The Great Belt was historically navigable to ocean-going vessels. It still is used, despite a few collisions and near collisions with the
In the reign of king Eric of Pomerania the Danish government began to receive a large part of its income from the so-called 'Sound Dues' toll on international merchant ships passing through the Øresund. Non-Danish vessels were restricted to the Øresund channel. Merchants paid the tax under threat of having their vessels sunk or confiscated.
During the middle of the 19th century, this practice became a diplomatic liability and the Danish government agreed to terminate it, achieving an international financial compensation in return. Danish waterways were consequently opened to foreign shipping. The eastern half of the Great Belt is an
In 1991,
On 4 April 2024, the Danish Maritime Authority ordered the closure of an area of the strait south-west of Korsør to shipping and aviation after a missile launcher aboard HDMS Niels Juel malfunctioned during a naval exercise.[7]
See also
- Great Belt Bridge
- Great Belt Power Link— electrical power cable.
- Danish Straits — includes Great Belt.
- Little Belt — strait between Jutland and Funen.
- Øresund — strait between Zealand and Sweden.
- March across the Belts
Storebælt
(Great Belt).
References
- GFF.
- ^ .
- ^ Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet (19 June 2013): Marsvin trives i de indre danske farvande. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Maritime Law". UNESCO. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ "Passage through the Great Belt (Finland v. Denmark)". www.icj-cij.org.
- ^ Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland) (1994-03-24), "Kirjallinen kysymys: Suomen valtion Juutinrauman siltahankkeesta saamista korvauksista", KK 94/1994 vp (in Finnish and Swedish), Parliament of Finland[dead link]
- ^ "Denmark shuts shipping strait over missile failure". BBC. 4 April 2024.