Denmark Strait

Lore & Background

The strait connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is 300 mi long. The narrowest part of the strait is 180 mi wide and lies between Straumnes, on Iceland's Hornstrandir peninsula, and on Greenland's Blosseville Coast. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the dividing line between the Arctic and the North Atlantic oceans runs from Straumnes to Cape Nansen, 132 km southwest of Cape Tupinier.

Reader's Guide

The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is 625 ft. The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait; it flows southeastward along the Greenland coast and carries icebergs into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries. The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as the Denmark Strait cataract, flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait.

Did You Know?

• During World War II, the Battle of the Denmark Strait took place on 24 May 1941.
• The German battleship Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in the strait, with the loss of all but three of her 1,418 crew.
• The Bismarck was able to enter the Atlantic through the Strait, but damage sustained in the battle led to her own sinking three days later.
• The German heavy cruiser accompanying the Bismarck evaded British pursuers and returned to safety at Brest.