| Denmark Strait | |
| Other Name: | Grænlandssund |
| Location: | Between Iceland and Greenland |
| Pushpin Map: | Greenland |
The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait (in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkrainˌlan(t)sˌsʏnt/, 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait.
The strait connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It stretches 300miles long and 180miles wide at its narrowest, between Straumnes, the northwestern headland of the Westfjords peninsula of Hornstrandir, and Cape Tupinier on Blosseville Coast in East Greenland. The official International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) delineation between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans runs from Straumnes to Cape Nansen, 132km (82miles) southwest of Cape Tunipier. From Straumnes to Cape Nansen the distance is 336km (209miles).
The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is 625feet. The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries.
The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as the Denmark Strait cataract, flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait.[1]
See main article: Battle of the Denmark Strait. During World War II, the Battle of the Denmark Strait took place on 24 May 1941. The sank the British battlecruiser, which exploded with the loss of all but three of her 1,418 crew; the battleship was seriously damaged in the engagement. Bismarck was able to enter the Atlantic through the Strait, but damage sustained in the battle—combined with British aircraft search-and-destroy missions—led to her own sinking three days later.