Template:FP-North Sea

The North Sea beating on the beach at Bamburgh, Northumberland

North Sea The North Sea lies along the whole east coast of Great Britain, with Europe to the south and east; Scandinavia lies to the west across the sea, and the coasts of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium sweep round form the east to the south to the Straits of Dover, which mark its southern limit, west of which is the English Channel. To the north of Shetland, the sea opens out into the Atlantic Ocean. In reckoning the area of the sea from Dover to Orkney, it comes to some 600 miles long, 360 miles broad and 290,000 square miles in area. Its long coasts on all sides are lined with ports, fishing villages and industry. In addition to the trading ships, fishing boats and warships which have plied the North Sea since prehistory, the North Sea is today a source of energy, with rich oil and gas fields and latterly wind, wave and tidal power. (Read more)