Behring Strait

Behring Strait separates Asia from America, and connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean. The proof that the two continents were not connected was given by a Cossack named Deschnev, who in 1648 sailed from a harbour in Siberia, in the Polar Ocean, into the Sea of Kamchatka. But his voyage was long regarded by Europeans as a fable, until Behring's (q.v.) expedition in 1728. The strait was explored and accurately described by Cook in 1778. The narrowest part is near 66° lat., between East Cape in Asia, and Cape Prince of Wales in America, where the capes approach within 36 miles; about midway are three uninhabited islands. The greatest depth is some 30 fathoms. Haze and fogs are the normal conditions of the atmosphere.—BEHRING SEA, a part of the North Pacific Ocean, commonly known as the Sea of Kamchatka, bounded W. by Kamchatka, E. by Alaska, S. by the Aleutian Islands, and N. by Behring Strait. There are several islands in this sea, and here also fogs prevail.—BEHRING ISLAND, the most westerly of the Aleutian Islands, barren and destitute of wood, but an important station of the Alaska fur industry. It has an area of 30 sq. m., and is noteworthy as the place where Behring, the discoverer, was wrecked and died in 1741.