The Strait of Bonifacio (french: Bouches de Bonifacio; it, Bocche di Bonifacio; co, Bucchi di Bunifaziu; sdn, Bocchi di Bunifaciu; sc, Buccas de Bonifatziu; lij, Bocche de Bunifazziu; lat, Fretum Gallicum, Fretum Taphros) is the

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 chann ...

between

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian language, Italian, Corsican language, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese dialect, Algherese and Catalan languag ...

, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is wide and divides the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian p ...

from the western

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. The strait is notorious among

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s for its

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the t ...

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (str ...

shoal 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. It o ...

s, and other obstacles. The most famous disaster in the Strait of Bonifacio was that of the French

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

'' Sémillante'' on February 15, 1855. ''Sémillante'' had left the port of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

the day before on her way into the Black Sea to supply the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

with troops. A storm caused her to hit a reef; the ship sank and none of the 750 soldiers on board survived. After a tanker disaster in 1993, the passage through the Strait of Bonifacio has been prohibited for French and Italian flag ships with

dangerous goods Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

. Passage for ships with dangerous goods sailing under other flags is strongly discouraged and subject to mandatory piloting. Its maximum depth is .

Gallery

File:Strait of bonifacio2.jpg, Location of the Strait. File:Bouches de Bonifacio.JPG, The Strait as seen from

Santa Teresa di Gallura Santa Teresa Gallura (Gallurese: ''Lungoni'', sc, Lungone) is a town on the northern tip of Sardinia, on the Strait of Bonifacio, in the province of Sassari, Italy. The southern coast of Corsica can be seen from the beach. The city is one of seve ...

in Sardinia; Corsica is in the background. File:Strait of Bonifacio.jpg, The Strait as seen from the northernmost tip of Sardinia; the southern coast of Corsica is barely visible. File:Scogliere bocche di bonifacio.JPG, The Strait as seen from the Corsican coast. File:Strasse von Bonifacio.jpg, The Strait as seen from the air.

References

External links

Bonifacio International straits Bonifacio Bonifacio Landforms of Corsica Landforms of Sardinia Landforms of the Tyrrhenian Sea France–Italy border {{Sardinia-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links