An isthmus (
/ˈɪsθməs/ or /ˈɪsməs/; plural: isthmuses, isthmi; from Ancient Greek: ἰσθμός isthmos "neck") is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.[1]
Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation. The Panama Canal bisects the Isthmus of Panama, thereby connecting the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the Suez Canal adjoins the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans, cutting across the Isthmus of Suez to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Suez/Red Sea. Strait is the sea counterpart of isthmus.
[edit] List of isthmuses
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[edit] In Asia
[edit] Caucasus
[edit] In Oceania
[edit] In Europe
[edit] Americas
[edit] Canada
In Puget Sound, south of the Guemes Channel sits Fidalgo Island. This island is about 15 minutes west of Burlington, Washington separated from the mainland by only a wide marshy isthmus and the Swinomish Channel that cuts through the isthmus. The city of Seattle, Washington has spread itself across a large isthmus of ridges and valleys extending north to south along the eastern side of Puget Sound. A little south of Puget Sound about 45 miles north of the mouth the Columbia River on the west coast of Washington sits Grays Harbor. In the early twentieth century long jetties were built to stabilize the entrance to Grays Harbor and to clear out the sand banks that interfered with navigation. Because of these jetties in the last few years there has been a large amount of erosion on the shorelines. This prompted the Corps of Engineers to deposit about 600,000 cubic meters of sand and pebbles in order to create an artificial isthmus. This wide isthmus now prevents the sea from breaking into the bay and threatening the town of Westport.
[3]
[edit] Mexico
[edit] Nicaragua
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[edit] Panama
[edit] Venezuela
[edit] Argentina
[edit] British Overseas Territories
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[edit] See also
3. Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Shafin Islam. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390.
4. Mellander, Gustavo A. (1971). The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years. Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568.
/ˈɪsθməs/ or /ˈɪsməs/; plural: isthmuses, isthmi; from Ancient Greek: ἰσθμός isthmos "neck") is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.[1]
