The English Channel separates Britain from continental Europe. At its narrowest point — the Strait of Dover between Dover in Kent and Calais in France — it is just 33 km (about 21 miles) wide. The narrowness has shaped British history: it has both protected the country from invasion since 1066 and served as one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
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Since 1994 the Channel Tunnel — informally "the Chunnel" — has linked Folkestone in Kent with Coquelles near Calais. It carries Eurostar passenger trains and Eurotunnel Le Shuttle vehicle trains and is one of the longest undersea rail tunnels in the world.
You may be asked when the Channel Tunnel opened (1994), what links it joins, or how wide the Strait of Dover is at its narrowest.
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