Soela Strait (, ) is the

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, locating between

Saaremaa Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

and

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa ( , ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

. The strait connects

Väinameri The Väinameri (Estonian language, Estonian for ''Strait Sea'' or ''Sea of Straits''; ) or Väinameri Sea is a strait and sub-bay of the Baltic Sea, located between the West Estonian Archipelago and the Estonian mainland, within western Estonia. ...

and open part of

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 ...

. According to ethnographer Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Russwurm, the name of strait derives from Swedish Estonian word "söäl", which means "

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

"."Eibofolke ehk rootslased Eestimaa randadel ja Ruhnus". 2015. Page 48 The width of strait is about 6 km. Several islets locates in the strait: e.g. Pihlalaid, Suurlaid.

References

Geography of Estonia {{Estonia-geo-stub