Important Straits, Canals and Gulfs of the World: GK Notes

The correct answer is B, India and Sri Lanka. The Palk Strait lies between the Ramanathapuram coast of Tamil Nadu and the Jaffna region of northern Sri Lanka, and it joins Palk Bay in the north with the Gulf of Mannar in the south; the shoals of Adam's Bridge run across its southern end. A is wrong because India and Myanmar are separated in the sea by the Coco Channel near North Andaman and share a land boundary in the north-east, not a strait in the south. C is wrong because the Maldives lie far out in the Arabian Sea and are separated from Minicoy of Lakshadweep by the Eight Degree Channel. D is wrong because Indonesia is separated from the Indian islands by a wide stretch of the Andaman Sea, the nearest Indonesian point to India being Sumatra off Great Nicobar.

The correct answer is C, the Gulf of Oman. The Strait of Hormuz runs between the Iranian coast and the Musandam peninsula of Oman and is the only sea route out of the Persian Gulf, leading into the Gulf of Oman and from there into the Arabian Sea; that is why it is the world's most sensitive oil chokepoint. A is wrong because the Red Sea lies on the other side of the Arabian peninsula and is reached from the Indian Ocean through Bab-el-Mandeb. B is wrong because the Gulf of Aden lies off Yemen and Somalia and is joined to the Red Sea, not to the Persian Gulf. D is wrong because the Mediterranean Sea is linked to the Red Sea by the Suez Canal and to the Atlantic by the Strait of Gibraltar, and has no direct opening into the Persian Gulf.

The correct answer is A, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, runs about 193 kilometres across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt from Port Said on the Mediterranean to the city of Suez on the Red Sea, and because the two seas stand at nearly the same level the canal needs no locks. B is wrong because the Atlantic and the Pacific are joined by the Panama Canal across the Isthmus of Panama. C is wrong because the North Sea and the Baltic are joined by the Kiel Canal in Germany, opened in 1895. D is wrong because the Black Sea reaches the Aegean through the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles, a natural chain of straits in Turkey and not a canal at all.

The correct answer is C, Gatun Lake. The Panama Canal does not cut through at sea level; ships are lifted by locks into the artificial Gatun Lake, sail across it and through the Culebra or Gaillard Cut, and are then lowered by locks on the other side, which is why the canal needs a large freshwater reservoir. A is wrong because Lake Maracaibo is in Venezuela, an inlet of the Caribbean and not part of any canal. B is wrong because Lake Titicaca lies high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia and is the highest navigable lake in the world, far from Panama. D is wrong because Lake Nicaragua was considered for a rival canal route in the nineteenth century, and a Nicaraguan canal has been proposed many times, but no such canal carries shipping today.

The correct answer is A, Asia and North America. The Bering Strait lies between the Chukchi peninsula of Russia and the Seward peninsula of Alaska, joining the Arctic Ocean to the Bering Sea, and the International Date Line passes through it; in the ice ages a land bridge here allowed people and animals to cross into America. B is wrong because Europe and Africa are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco. C is wrong because Asia and Europe meet on land along the Urals and are divided at sea by the Bosporus and the Dardanelles in Turkey. D is wrong because South America is separated from Antarctica by the Drake Passage, the stormy stretch of water south of Cape Horn. Remember also that the strait is only about 82 kilometres wide and that Russia and the United States face each other across it at the Diomede Islands, where the date line makes one island a day ahead of the other.

The correct answer is B, Spain and Morocco. The Strait of Gibraltar is the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean, with the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and Jebel Musa on the African side; the two headlands were known to the ancients as the Pillars of Hercules. A is wrong because Italy and Tunisia face each other across the Strait of Sicily, a much wider stretch of the Mediterranean. C is wrong because France and England are separated by the Strait of Dover, also called Pas de Calais, the narrowest part of the English Channel. D is wrong because Greece and Turkey face each other across the Aegean Sea and its many islands, while the straits of Turkey, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, lie wholly within Turkey.

The correct answer is A, the Gulf of Aden. Bab-el-Mandeb, the Gate of Tears, lies between Yemen on the Asian side and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side, and it is the southern doorway of the Red Sea, opening into the Gulf of Aden and then the Arabian Sea; every ship using the Suez Canal on the India-Europe route passes through it. B is wrong because the Persian Gulf is entered from the Gulf of Oman through the Strait of Hormuz. C is wrong because the Gulf of Aqaba is one of the two northern arms of the Red Sea itself, leading to Jordan and Israel, and is not reached through Bab-el-Mandeb. D is wrong because the Red Sea is joined to the Mediterranean at its northern end by the Suez Canal, a man-made waterway and not a strait.

The correct answer is B, Little Andaman and Car Nicobar. The Ten Degree Channel takes its name from the parallel of ten degrees north that runs along it, and it divides the Andaman group of islands from the Nicobar group, lying between Little Andaman in the north and Car Nicobar in the south. A is wrong because South Andaman and Little Andaman are separated by the Duncan Passage, a narrower gap within the Andaman group. C is wrong because Minicoy is separated from the Maldives by the Eight Degree Channel, and from the rest of Lakshadweep by the Nine Degree Channel. D is wrong because Great Nicobar is separated from Sumatra in Indonesia by the Great Channel, the stretch of water that makes Indonesia India's nearest maritime neighbour in the south-east.

The correct answer is C, Madagascar. The Mozambique Channel is the stretch of the Indian Ocean between Mozambique on the African mainland and the island of Madagascar, and at roughly 1,600 kilometres in length it is counted as the longest channel in the world; the Comoros lie at its northern mouth. A is wrong because Mauritius lies well to the east of Madagascar in the open Indian Ocean and has no channel named after it. B is wrong because Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, thousands of kilometres from Africa. D is wrong because the Seychelles is a scattered group of islands north-east of Madagascar, again in open ocean rather than in a narrow channel. Examiners also pair the channel with the Comoros and with the Mozambique Current that flows through it, so the name should bring to mind Africa on one side and Madagascar on the other.

The correct answer is B, the Gulf of Mexico. Enclosed by the United States, Mexico and the island of Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico is the largest gulf on earth, and it is the nursery of the hurricanes that strike the American coast as well as the home of the warm Gulf Stream. A is wrong because the Persian Gulf, though the most important for oil, is far smaller and shallower, and is counted among the shallow marginal seas. C is wrong because the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa, is famous chiefly for lying where the Equator crosses the Prime Meridian. D is wrong because the Gulf of Carpentaria is a shallow sea indenting the northern coast of Australia and is much smaller than the Gulf of Mexico.

The correct answer is B, the Baltic Sea. The Kiel Canal, opened in 1895, cuts across the base of the Jutland peninsula in northern Germany and lets ships pass from the North Sea to the Baltic without sailing round Denmark; it is one of the busiest artificial waterways in the world. A is wrong because the Black Sea is reached from the Mediterranean through the Turkish straits and has no canal to the North Sea. C is wrong because the Caspian Sea is landlocked and is linked to the Black Sea and the Baltic only through the Russian river and canal system, such as the Volga-Don Canal. D is wrong because the Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean between Italy and the Balkans and is nowhere near the German canal.