Bering Strait | Strait, Pacific Ocean - Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos Bering Strait Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Images & Videos Quizzes Water and its Varying Forms Contents Geography & Travel Physical Geography of Water CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Bering-Strait Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

• U.S. Naval Institute - New Challenges for the Bering Strait
• PNAS - Role of the Bering Strait on the hysteresis of the ocean conveyor belt circulation and glacial climate stability
• National Defense University Press - The Bering Strait: An arena for great power competition
• Ocean Conservancy - Protecting the Arctic: The Bering Strait: The Gateway to the Arctic
• Science Advances - Sea level fingerprinting of the Bering Strait flooding history detects the source of the Younger Dryas climate event

Bering Strait strait, Pacific Ocean Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: Proliv Beringa Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Homework Help Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

1 of 2

2 of 2

Bering Strait, strait linking the Arctic Ocean with the Bering Sea and separating the continents of Asia and North America at their closest point. The strait averages 98 to 164 feet (30 to 50 metres) in depth and at its narrowest is about 53 miles (85 km) wide. There are numerous islands in the strait, including the two Diomede Islands (about 6 square miles [16 square km]), and to the south of the strait lies St. Lawrence Island (about 1,000 square miles [2,600 square km]). The U.S.–Russian boundary extends through the strait.

Russian: Proliv Beringa (Show more) See all related content

Some of the Bering Sea water passes through the strait into the Arctic Ocean, but most of it returns to the Pacific. In winter the region is subject to severe storms, and the sea is covered by ice fields averaging 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 metres) thick. In midsummer, drift ice remains in the Bering Strait. The strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish captain, who sailed into the strait in 1728. During the Ice Age the sea level fell by several hundred feet, making the strait into a land bridge between Asia and North America, over which a considerable migration of plants and animals, as well as humans (about 20,000 to 35,000 years ago), occurred.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michele Metych.