Kimberly McKay, age 13, of Columbus, Ohio, for her question:

HOW WIDE IS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL?

Between England and France is an arm of the sea which is called the English Channel. It is about 350 miles long and its width varies from 21 to 100 miles.

The narrowest place in the English Channel is between Dover, England, and Calais, France. This section is called the Strait of Dover. The channel here is 200 to 300 feet deep. Geologists suggest that England and France at one time many thousands of years ago were connected by land at this particular spot.

The waters of the English Channel are often rough because the currents of the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet in the channel. There are also frequesnt windstorms.

Major ports on the English coast are Dover, Falmouth, Portsmouth and Southampton. On the French coast are Boulogne sur Mer, Cherbourg, Dieppe and LeHavre.

Much shipping passes through the English Channel.

During the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II, Allied forces crossed the channel. Great oil and gasoline lines were laid across the channel to supply invasion troops.