A gat (, ''gat''; , ''Seegat'' or diminutive ''Gatje'') is an inshore channel or strait connecting coastal waters with the open sea or dividing two landmasses, such as two islands or an island and a peninsula. Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek,
Zeegat
(in Dutch). Accessed on July 5, 2024. Gats are usually relatively narrow but deep and are in many instances constantly eroded by currents flowing back and forth, such as tidal currents. The term is mostly used for features on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

coasts. According to Whittow a gat is either a strait dividing offshore islands from the mainland e.g. the Frisian Islands, or it is an opening in a line of sea cliffs allowing access to the coast from inland.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, pp. 214 and 240. . The term sometimes also refers to a shallower passage on lagoon coasts, including those without any tidal range, and can also refer to shallow bars in an area of mudflats. It is similar, but not identical, to a gut, which is a narrow river channel or strait prior to joining an open

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

. Leser restricts its use to deep, but relatively narrow inlets in the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

that are scoured out by currents, giving the example of the gap between the Frisian islands of Juist and Nordeney. In Dutch the term can be interpreted quite broadly, as it can refer to an entrance to the open sea formed by the mouth of an inlet, an inland sea or even a river; and also to an opening between coastal islands or coasts in general.

Description

The term "gat" is primarily (though not exclusively) applied to waterways of the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts of Europe. A similar term of related but not identical meaning, gut, is mainly applied to channels of the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of North America. Passages between inner and outer coastal waters, such as at the ends of spits of

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s or along '' bodden'' coasts are also referred to as gats.

Tidal effects and erosion

The comparatively large quantities of water that flow quite quickly through a gat cause heavy erosion that results in a channel deeper than the rest of the surrounding seabed and also endangers neighbouring islands. When the water masses from mud flats behind the islands surge out again into the sea as ebb currents, they flow rapidly again through the narrow gat. But as these water masses break out into the open sea, they spread out and slow down. As a result, on this seaward side of the gat, the particles of sand and mud carried with the water settle and form an ebb delta with its shallower waters between the islands. The sandbanks so formed are often known in Germany as ''plate'' (pronounced "plah-ter", see Kachelotplate). The point where the water pouring out of the gat runs over these banks, which often lie in an arc between the islands, is the sand bar (). This is the shallowest part of the gat for shipping, but also the deepest point on the shallowest line between the islands. A flood delta is formed in a similar way on the landward side of the gat. A navigation channel to the open sea is usually marked out in the gats by the waterway and shipping authorities. The area of the bar is usually the most dangerous spot; this is where rip tides and, especially when the current flows against the wind, very dangerous ground swells may occur.

Etymology

The name comes from the

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

and Dutch word "gat" which means "gap". "Gat" is incorporated into some Dutch or Dutch-derived proper names of passages (e. g.

Kattegat The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...

, Veerse Gat) which may or may not be proper gats. In English names, both "gat" (e. g. Fisherman's Gat) and "gut" (e. g. Digby Gut, Hull Gut, Gut of Canso) are seen. In German, "Gat" (as well as "Seegatt" and the diminutive "Gatje") can refer to an arm of the sea which is not necessarily subject to strong tidal currents; for instance, the Prerower Strom ("Prerow Stream"), which is a regressive delta, is a gat. Seegatt (also "Neues illauerTief" ew Deep is the German proper name of the Strait of Baltiysk (Pillau) which connects the Vistula Lagoon to the

. The name of Hell Gate, a gat (or gut) in the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, is derived from archaic Dutch ''Hellegat'' (meaning possibly "clear opening"), a fairly common toponym (place name) for waterways in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

List of gats

The following is a list of gats, including named gats that may or may not be true gats as defined above:

German Bight

* Blindes Randzelgat * Dukegat * Dwarsgat * Emshörngat * Evermannsgat * Großputengat * Haaksgat * Harle-Seegatt * Homme Gat * Horsborngat * Hubertgat * Hungat * Kalfamergat * Nordergat * Norderneyer Seegat * Otzumer Balje * Randzelgat * Riffgat * Rütergat * Skittgat * Spaniergat * Stickers Gat * Wagengat * Wichter Ee

Netherlands

* Amelander Gat * Duinkers Gat * East Gat, West Cappel * Eijerlandse Gat * Homme Gat * Molengat * North Gat, Texel * Russian Gat, Vlie * Schulpe Gat * Veer Gat

Baltic Sea

(not strictly a gat despite its name) * Seegatt

United Kingdom

* Cockle Gat, Yarmouth * Fisherman's Gat, Thames Estuary * Foulger's Gat, Thames Estuary * Hasborough Gat, Yarmouth * Nicholas Gat, Yarmouth

References

{{Coastal geography Coastal and oceanic landforms Wadden Sea Coastal geography