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- For other uses, see Isthmus (other meanings).
An isthmus (from Greek ισθμός, isthmos; plural isthmuses or isthmi; pronounced /ˈɪs.mʌs/) is a narrow strip of land that is bordered on two sides by water and connects two larger land masses. It is the inverse of a strait (which lies between two land masses and connects two larger bodies of water).
Isthmuses are a naturally good place to build canals. The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, drastically reduces the naval travel time between the east and west coasts of the Americas. The Suez Canal is another example - it allows ship transportation between Europe and Asia without the circumnavigation of Africa.
The Japanese created a "negative isthmus" on the Tsushima Islands Archipelago, by permanently dividing two islands joined by an isthmus by a 2 km wide channel. Between 1895 and 1904, the Japanese navy blasted a ship channel (between one or two kilometers wide), through an isthmus of the single island between Aso Bay from the west, and Tsushima Strait on the east, permanently dividing the island into two islands. These have since been named Kamino-shima and Shimono-shima.
List of isthmuses
- the Isthmus of Panama - the most famous isthmus. Connects North America and South America.
- the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece - the first isthmus to bear that name
- the Isthmus of Dubrovnik - today's Stradun, (main center street), which connected Laus and Dub into a single city unit
- the Isthmus of Suez - the isthmus between North Africa and Southwest Asia, in Egypt where the Suez Canal is located
- the Isthmus of Kra, which joins the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia
- the Isthmus of Avalon in Canada - separates the main island of Newfoundland from the Peninsula of Avalon (where the capital, St. John's, is located)
- the Isthmus of Chignecto - connects the mainland portion of Nova Scotia with North America
- the Isthmus of Tehuantepec - connects Yucatan and Central America with the rest of Mexico
- the Isthmus of Perekop between Crimea and Ukraine proper
- the Karelian Isthmus between Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga
- the Madison Isthmus, between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin