Isthmus

An isthmus (from Greek ??????, isthmos; plural isthmuses or isthmi; pronounced "ISS-mus" with a silent "th") is a narrow strip of land that is bordered on two sides by water and connects two larger land masses.

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It is the inverse of a strait (which lies between two land masses and connects two larger bodies of water).

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Isthmuses are a naturally good place to build canals. The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, drastically reduces the naval travel time between the east and west coasts of the Americas. The Suez Canal is another example - it allows ship transportation between Europe and Asia without the circumnavigation of Africa.

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The Japanese created a "negative isthmus" on the Tsushima Islands Archipelago, by permanently dividing two islands joined by an isthmus by a 2 km wide channel. Between 1895 and 1904, the Japanese navy blasted a ship channel (between one or two kilometers wide), through an isthmus of the single island between Aso Bay from the west, and Tsushima Strait on the east, permanently dividing the island into two islands. These have since been named Kamino-shima and Shimono-shima.

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Canal: Canals are man-made waterways, usually connecting existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Irrigation canals are man-made waterways for the delivery of water and preceded the use of transportation canals used by barges or narrowboats on smaller canals, and by ships on ship canals that connect to the ocea...

Panama Canal: The Panama Canal is a canal 82 km (51 mi) long that cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in Central America. The canal has a huge impact on shipping, as it removes the need for ships to travel the long and dangerous route via the Drake Passage an...

Atlantic: redirect Atlantic Ocean...

Isthmus related Images and Photos (experimental)

Hamburg America Lines Flies over the Ocean and Isthmus