Geography of the North Sea
Template:Short description The geography of the North Sea studies coastal and submarine features as well as the people who live on its coasts. It is bounded by the east coasts of England and Scotland to the west and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.[1] In the south-west, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north, it opens in a widening funnel shape to the Norwegian Sea, which lies in the very north-eastern part of the Atlantic.
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows:[2]
On the Southwest. A line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N).
On the Northwest. From Dunnet Head (3°22'W) in Scotland to Tor Ness (58°47'N) in the Island of Hoy, thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy (58°55'N) on to Breck Ness on Mainland (58°58'N) through this island to Costa Head (3°14'W) and to Inga Ness (59'17'N) in Westray through Westray, to Bow Head, across to Mull Head (North point of Papa Westray) and on to Seal Skerry (North point of North Ronaldsay) and thence to Horse Island (South point of the Shetland Islands).
On the North. From the North point (Fethaland Point) of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands, across to Graveland Ness (60°39'N) in the Island of Yell, through Yell to Gloup Ness (1°04'W) and across to Spoo Ness (60°45'N) in Unst island, through Unst to Herma Ness (60°51'N), on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to Muckle Flugga (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".) all these being included in the North Sea area; thence up the meridian of 0°53' West to the parallel of 61°00' North and eastward along this parallel to the coast of Norway, the whole of Viking Bank being thus included in the North Sea.
On the East. The Western limit of the Skagerrak [A line joining Hanstholm (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".) and the Naze (Lindesnes, Script error: No such module "Coordinates".)].
Submarine topography
The seabed is separated into three bathymetric areas, the Norwegian Trench and the north and south North Sea separated by the Dogger Bank.[3] For the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which reaches from the Stad peninsula in Sogn og Fjordane to the Oslofjord. The trench is between Script error: No such module "convert". wide and hundreds of metres deep.[4] Off the Rogaland coast, it is Script error: No such module "convert". deep, and at its deepest point, off Arendal, it reaches Script error: No such module "convert". deep as compared to the average depth of the North Sea, about Script error: No such module "convert"..[5] The trench is not a subduction-related oceanic trench, where one tectonic plate is being forced under another. It is mainly a deep erosional scour, while the western part follows the north–south line of an old rift valley formed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
To the east of Great Britain, lies the Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris, which rises up to Script error: No such module "convert". deep.[6]
The Silver Pit is a hollow or valley-like depression that has been recognised since about 1843 by fishermen.[7][8] Nearby is the Silverpit crater, a controversial structure initially proposed to be an impact crater, though another interpretation is that it may result from the dissolution of a thick bed of salt which permitted the upper strata to collapse.[9] The Devil's Hole is a group of trenches Script error: No such module "convert". east of Dundee, Scotland which are up to Script error: No such module "convert". deep.[10] "The Long Forties" denotes a principal raised bank about Script error: No such module "convert". in length that is between Script error: No such module "convert". deep.[11][12] It is located parallel to the shore of Scotland between Kinnaird's Head and Aberdeen.[13] The Broad Fourteens are a sand bar ridge between eleven and fourteen fathoms (20 m and 26 m) deep located off the Flemish and Danish coasts.[11][14]
Coordinates
Script error: No such module "Side box".
Geographical Features of the North Sea Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Feature | Coordinates | Sources |
| Black Rock Ledge | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Brig Head | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Broad Fourteens (northeast) | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | |
| Broad Fourteens (southwest) | Script error: No such module "Coordinates".. | |
| The Bush | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Coal Pit | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Cornelian Bay | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Cullercoats Bay | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Devil's Hole | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [17] |
| Dogger Bank | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Elm Bush | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Farne Islands | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Filey Bay | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Filey Brigg | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Firth of Forth | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Flamborough Head | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [18] |
| Flemish Banks - Blaamse Banken | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [19] |
| Frisian Front | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| German Bight | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Gravelines | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Hadstone Carrs | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Hardangerfjords | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Helgoland Bight | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Inner Silver Pit | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Kelder Steel | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Long Forties | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | |
| Markham's Hole | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Moray Firth | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| The Ness (Deer Sound) | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [20] |
| North Fourteens | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". and Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | |
| Oosterschelde | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Orkney Isles | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Outer Silver Pit | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [21] |
| Robin Hood's Bay | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| St. Andrews Bay | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Scheldt Estuary Netherlands | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [20] |
| Schouwen Bank crest Zeeland Banks | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [20] |
| Seal Skears | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| The Scars | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Skate Hole | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Silver Pit Crater | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [22] |
| Sole Pit | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Southern Bight | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Thornton Ridge (northeast) | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [23] |
| Viking Bank | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [16] |
| Wadden Sea | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [24] |
| The Wash and North Norfolk Coast | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [25] |
| The Well | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [15] |
| Zeeland Banks De Kom swale | Script error: No such module "Coordinates". | [20] |
See also
- List of rivers discharging into the North Sea
- List of shoals and sandbanks in the southern North Sea
- Bell Rock Lighthouse
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". To expand the Geographic Tree and see the child Geographic names look in North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". To expand the Geographic Tree and see the child Geographic names look in North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1". Abstract
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".