The Varne Bank or Varne Shoal is a long

sand bank In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. I ...

in the Strait of Dover, lying southwest of Dover in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. With the Lobourg Channel running along it, the Varne bank lies immediately south-west of the deepest point in the strait of Dover. Its rectilinear shape is similar to other banks in the strait such as South Falls bank bordering the Lobourg Channel on the east, the Colbart bank (a.k.a. the Ridge) and others. Rectilinear-shaped banks are only present on the English side of the strait. Lying almost in the middle of the south/west international traffic English-side channel of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, the Varne Bank is a constant concern for both British coastguards and shipping. The sea above it presents strong rippling, especially when strong tides occur, and is noted for its extra roughness during bad weather.Ogden C. K.
''Sailing directions for the north coast of France from cape Griz-Nez to cape Levi''
1908. (search for the words "Varne shoal".) ''archive.org/stream/sailingdirection00londiala''''Pas de Calais - Dover Straight''
''sea-seek.com'' With a minimum depth of about , it is marked by lighted buoys to the West, East and South. Due to its heightened risk, there has been a

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

positioned near the western end of the Varne Bank since October 1860. Varne Lightvessel

Ships that founder on the Varne Bank are often stated as being lost on the

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...

in error, perhaps because the Varne Bank is less well known than its close northerly neighbour. Due to the volume increase in shipping through the world's busiest channel, several proposals have been made to eliminate the Varne Bank through dredging. However, also due to its shallow depth, the Varne Bank is a productive location for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, especially for

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

and

scallops Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of Marine (ocean), marine bivalve mollusc, mollusks in the Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Family (biology), family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also s ...

. In 1802, mining engineer Albert Mathieu made proposals to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

for turning the Varne Bank into an island staging point for the Channel Tunnel. In the 20th century, a proposal was made for a Channel bridge, which would have used the Varne Bank as a staging post for a support structure. Several naval battles have been fought nearby, including the Battle of Dover and

Battle of Dungeness The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent. Background In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...

in 1652 and the Battle of Dover Strait in 1917. The Varne Bank along with its neighbouring bank ''Colbart'', the ''Vergoyer'' bank, the ''ridens ( fr) de Boulogne'' and the French side of the ''Bassurelle'' bank, form part of a Natura 2000 protection zone listed under the name « ''Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du

Pas de Calais The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

'' » ("''ridens'' and sub-aqueous dunes of the

").Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du Pas de Calais
''inpn.mnhn.fr'', Natura 2000.

References

{{coord, 51, 0, 0, N, 1, 22, 30, E, display=title Landforms of Kent English Channel Dover District Thanet Sandbanks of England Strait of Dover