The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , '

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

') is an oceanic

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

between

to its northwest and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

to its southeast. The Norwegian island of

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger ...

lies northeast of the strait.

Geography

The strait connects the

Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined a ...

, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the

Irminger Sea The Irminger Sea is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered to the west by southern Greenland, to the north by Iceland and the Denmark Strait, to the east by the Reykjanes Ridge (a northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge), ...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It stretches long and wide at its narrowest, between Straumnes, the northwestern

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, J ...

of the

Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coa ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

Hornstrandir Hornstrandir () is Iceland's northernmost peninsula, covering at the northern end of the Westfjords, to the north of the Jökulfirðir and to the northwest of Drangajökull glacier. Ecosystem The area covers of tundra, fjord, glacier and alpi ...

, and Cape Tupinier on ''Blosseville Coast'' in

East Greenland Tunu, originally Østgrønland ("East Greenland"), was one of the three counties (''amter'') of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The county seat was at the main settlement, Tasiilaq. The county's population in 2005 was around 3,800. The county ...

. The official

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters ...

(IHO) delineation between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans runs from Straumnes to

Cape Nansen Cape Nansen ( da, Kap Nansen) is a headland in the Greenland Sea, east Greenland, Sermersooq municipality. This cape is named after Fridtjof Nansen. Cape Nansen is an important geographical landmark. Geography Cape Nansen is located to the northe ...

, southwest of Cape Tunipier. From Straumnes to Cape Nansen the distance is .

Hydrography

The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is . The cold

East Greenland Current The East Greenland Current (EGC) is a cold, low- salinity current that extends from Fram Strait (~80N) to Cape Farewell (~60N). The current is located off the eastern coast of Greenland along the Greenland continental margin. The current cuts t ...

passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries. The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as the

Denmark Strait cataract The Denmark Strait cataract is an undersea waterfall found on the western side of the Denmark Strait in the Atlantic Ocean, on the Arctic Circle between Iceland and Greenland. It is the world's highest underwater waterfall, with water falling al ...

, flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait.To the Denmark Strait: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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Battle of the Denmark Strait

During World War II, the

Battle of the Denmark Strait The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a naval engagement in the Second World War, which took place on 24 May 1941 between ships of the Royal Navy and the ''Kriegsmarine''. The British battleship and the battlecruiser fought the German battleshi ...

took place on 24 May 1941. The sank the British battlecruiser , which exploded with the loss of all but three of its 1,418 crew; was seriously damaged in the engagement. ''Bismarck'' entered the Atlantic through the Strait, but damage sustained in the battle—combined with British aircraft search-and-destroy missions—led to its sinking three days later.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Straits of the Arctic Ocean Straits of Greenland Straits of Iceland Greenland–Iceland border International straits Geography of North America Geography of Northern Europe

Geography

Hydrography

Battle of the Denmark Strait

See also

References

External links