Turkey - 博斯普魯斯海峽 Bosporus Inwards Turkey

View of the entrance to the Bosporus from the Sea of Marmara, every bit seen from the Topkapı Palace

The Bosphorus or Bosporus, too known every bit the Istanbul Strait, is a strait that forms business office of the boundary betwixt Europe too Asia. It is i of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected past times the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, too thereby to the Mediterranean Sea).

Ottoman era waterfront houses on the Bosporus

Bosphorus' limits are defined every bit the connecting business betwixt the lighthouses Rumeli Feneri too Anadolu Feneri inwards the northward too betwixt the Ahırkapı Feneri too the Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri inwards the south.

Ottoman era waterfront houses on the Bosporus

 The strait is betwixt the limits 31 km (17 nmi) long, with a width of 3,329 m (1.798 nmi) at the northern entrance too 2,826 m (1.526 nmi) at the southern entrance. Its maximum width is 3,420 m (1.85 nmi) betwixt Umuryeri too Büyükdere Limanı, too minimum width 704 m (0.380 nmi) betwixt Kandilli Point too Aşiyan.

Bosphorus Bridge.

The depth of Bosphorus varies from 36 to 124 m (118 to 407 ft) inwards midstream with an average of 65 m (213 ft). The deepest place is betwixt Kandilli too Bebek with 110 m (360 ft). The most shallow locations are off Kadıköy İnciburnu on the northward road with eighteen m (59 ft) too off Aşiyan Point on the southward road with xiii m (43 ft).

The Rumelihisarı on the Bosporus with both of bridges which twain the strait.

The shores of the strait are heavily populated every bit the metropolis of Istanbul (with a metropolitan expanse inwards excess of xi 1000000 inhabitants) straddles it.

 

 View of the Bosphorus too Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge every bit seen from Rumelihisarı

The advert comes from Greek Bosporos (Βόσπορος), which the ancient Greeks analysed every bit bous βοῦς 'ox' + poros πόρος 'means of passing a river, ford, ferry', hence important 'ox-ford'. Although it has been known for a piece that the Black Sea too the Sea of Marmara period of time into each other inwards an example of a density flow, findings of a report past times the University of Leeds inwards August 2010 divulge that at that topographic point is inwards fact an underwater river flowing through the Mediterranean too nether the Bosphorus (caused past times the divergence inwards density of the 2 seas), which would hold upwards the 6th largest river on public if it were to hold upwards on land.

Formation

The exact drive for the formation of the Bosphorus remains the champaign of report of vigorous debate with geologists. Thousands of years ago, the Black Sea became disconnected from the Aegean Sea.

A persuasion of the Bosphorus strait, with the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge seen inwards the background

The Black Sea deluge theory (published inwards 1997 past times William Ryan too Walter Pitman from Columbia University) contends that the Bosphorus was formed almost 5600 BC when the ascent waters of the Mediterranean/Sea of Marmara breached through to the Black Sea, which at the fourth dimension (according to the theory) was a low-lying trunk of fresh water.

Panoramic persuasion of a subdivision of the Bosphorus, every bit seen from the Ulus neighbourhood on the European side, with the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge at left too the Bosphorus Bridge at right.

It is too said inwards myth that floating rocks known every bit the Symplegades or Clashing Rocks in i lawsuit crushed whatever send that attempted passage of the Bosporus until the hero Jason obtained passage, whereupon the rocks became fixed, too Greek access to the Black Sea was opened.