Strait of Bonifacio
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Strait of Bonifacio
| native_name = {{native name list |tag1=co|name1=Bucchi di Bunifaziu |tag2=sdn|name2=Bocchi di Bunifaciu |tag3=sc|name3=Buccas de Bonifatziu}}
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| image =Santa Teresa Gallura - Bocche di Bonifacio (04).JPG
| alt =
| caption = Strait of Bonifacio
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| location = Mediterranean Sea
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| coordinates = {{coord|41|18|43|N|9|12|46|E|type:waterbody|display=title,inline}}
| type =Strait
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| basin_countries =France
Italy
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| min_width ={{convert|11|km|mi}}
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| max-depth ={{convert|100|m|ft}}
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| cities =Bonifacio
| pushpin_map =Mediterranean#France#Italy
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The Strait of Bonifacio ({{langx|fr|Bouches de Bonifacio}}; {{langx|it|Bocche di Bonifacio}}; {{langx|co|Bucchi di Bunifaziu}}; {{langx|sdn|Bocchi di Bunifaciu}}; {{langx|sc|Buccas de Bonifatziu}}; {{langx|lij|Bocche de Bunifazziu}}; {{langx|la|Fretum Gallicum, Fretum Taphros}}) is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is {{convert|11|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide{{cite web |url= http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM7FTZ57NG_index_0.html |title= European Space Agency Observing the Earth |work=web page |publisher= European Space Agency |accessdate =4 October 2011}} and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea from the western Mediterranean Sea. The strait is notorious among sailors for its weather, currents, shoals, and other obstacles. The strait, while relatively narrow, has no fixed link and relies on ferry services.
The most famous disaster in the Strait of Bonifacio was that of the French frigate Sémillante on February 15, 1855. Sémillante had left the port of Toulon the day before on her way into the Black Sea to supply the Crimean War with troops. A storm caused her to hit a reef; the ship sank and none of the 750 soldiers on board survived.
After a tanker disaster in 1993, the passage through the Strait of Bonifacio has been prohibited for French and Italian flag ships with dangerous goods. Passage for ships with dangerous goods sailing under other flags is strongly discouraged and subject to mandatory piloting.{{cite web |url=http://iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/iucnmed/iucn_med_programme/marine_programme/governance/glossary/?11352 |title=The Strait of Bonifacio: a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) |accessdate=18 June 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=23312&filename=A766(18).pdf |title=IMO Resolution A.666(18) Navigation in the Strait of Bonifacio |accessdate=18 June 2013 |format=PDF}}
Gallery
File:Strait of bonifacio2.jpg|Location of the Strait.
File:Bouches de Bonifacio.JPG|The Strait as seen from Santa Teresa di Gallura in Sardinia; Corsica is in the background.
File:Strait of Bonifacio.jpg|The Strait as seen from the northernmost tip of Sardinia; the southern coast of Corsica is barely visible.
File:Scogliere bocche di bonifacio.JPG|The Strait as seen from the Corsican coast.
File:Strasse von Bonifacio.jpg|The Strait as seen from the air.
See also
References
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External links
{{Commons category|Strait of Bonifacio}}
{{Sardinia|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:International straits
Category:Landforms of Sardinia
Category:Landforms of the Tyrrhenian Sea
{{Corsica-geo-stub}}
{{Sardinia-geo-stub}}