page_title: North Sea
section_title: Coasts
hierarchical_section_title: North Sea / Geography / Coasts
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo from the air of Wadden Sea of Nordfriesland and Dithmarschen, Southern Schleswig, Germany. In the middle is the peninsula Eiderstedt, to the south the small islands of Trischen and Tertius, in the north several sandbanks Dansk: Sandbanker og aflejringer i Vadehavet ud for Nordfrisland i Sydslesvig i området vest for Husum og syd for øen Sild
context_page_description: The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres.
  The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery. The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries, and more recently the sea has developed into a rich source of energy resources, including fossil fuels, wind, and early efforts in wave power.
  Historically, the North Sea has featured prominently in geopolitical and military affairs, particularly in Northern Europe. It was also important globally through the power northern Europeans projected worldwide during much of the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The North Sea was the centre of the Vikings' rise.
context_section_description: The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, formed by glaciers during the ice ages. The coastlines along the southernmost part are covered with the remains of deposited glacial sediment. The Norwegian mountains plunge into the sea creating deep fjords and archipelagos. South of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer. The eastern Scottish coast is similar, though less severe than Norway. From north east of England, the cliffs become lower and are composed of less resistant moraine, which erodes more easily, so that the coasts have more rounded contours. In the Netherlands, Belgium and in East Anglia the littoral is low and marshy. The east coast and south-east of the North Sea (Wadden Sea) have coastlines that are mainly sandy and straight owing to longshore drift, particularly along Belgium and Denmark.
caption: The German North Sea coast
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