What are the geographical features of the Turkish Straits?

The Turkish Straits consist of two internationally significant waterways, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, situated on opposite ends of the Sea of Marmara in northwestern Turkey. Together, they create a passage connecting the Black Sea to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas while serving as the conventional continental boundary between Europe and Asia. The Dardanelles itself is 61 kilometres long, ranges from 1.2 to 6 kilometres wide, and reaches a maximum depth of 103 metres.

What we know

• The Turkish Straits consist of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, which are located on opposite ends of the Sea of Marmara. [2]
• The straits are conventionally considered to be the boundary line between the continents of Europe and Asia. [2]
• The Dardanelles is 61 kilometres long with a width ranging from 1.2 to 6 kilometres. [5]
• The Dardanelles has an average depth of 55 metres and a maximum depth of 103 metres at its narrowest point near Çanakkale. [5]

Where to go next

• compared withHow does the Bosphorus strait compare in size and location?
• whereWhat role does the Sea of Marmara play between the two straits?
• how we knowHow has the Montreux Convention governed navigation through the straits?
• the bigger pictureWhat is the geographic significance of East Thrace in European Turkey?
• whenWhen was the first fixed crossing built across the Dardanelles?
• an unexpected connectionHow does guest worker history link East Thrace to Germany?The sources note that due to worker agreements, many Turks living in Germany originally migrated from Eastern Thrace.

Sources

• [1]Turkish straits (Wikidata Q1051401) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Turkish Straits · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]East Thrace · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Marmara region · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Dardanelles · CC BY-SA 4.0