ENGLISH CHANNEL - GEOGRAPHY
News: First Telugu woman to cross
English channel
What's in the news?
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Dr Queeni Victoria Gandam, a mother of two, from
Hyderabad became the first lady from the two Telugu-speaking states to cross
the English channel in a relay swim from England to France which had a team of
eight.
Key takeaways:
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She covered a distance of 71 km amid water
temperatures between 12 and 14 degrees.
English Channel:
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The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is
an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates
Southern England from northern France.
Uniqueness:
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It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its
northeastern end.
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It is the busiest
shipping area in the world.
Features:
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It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles; 350
statute miles) long and varies in width from 240 km (130 nmi; 150 mi) at its
widest to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover.
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It is the smallest
of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe.
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It covers an area of some 75,000 square kilometres
(22,000 square nautical miles; 29,000 square miles).
Significance:
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The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised
by Britain as a natural defence mechanism to halt attempted invasions, such as
in the Napoleonic wars and in the second world war.
Population:
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The population around the English Channel is
predominantly located on the English
coast and the major languages spoken in this region are English and French.