Bering Strait
Sign in to savestrait between Asia and North America
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The Bering Strait is a narrow body of water that separates Asia from North America. It matters because it connects two continents and is a significant geographic feature that influences transportation, trade, and the movement of people and animals between the two regions.
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The Bering Strait (/ˈbɛərɪŋ, ˈbɛrɪŋ/ BAIR-ing, BERR-ing, US also /ˈbɪərɪŋ/ BEER-ing; Russian: Берингов пролив, romanized: Beringov proliv) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W longitude, slightly south of the Arctic Circle at about 65° 40' N latitude. The Strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian explorer.
The Bering Strait has been the subject of the scientific theory that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been the dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century.
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Bering StraitBodies of water of Chukotka Autonomous OkrugBodies of water of the Bering SeaBodies of water of the Chukchi SeaGeography of Northeast AsiaInternational straitsInteroceanic straitsRussia–United States borderStraits of AlaskaStraits of RussiaStraits of the Arctic OceanStraits of the Pacific Ocean