Talk:Strait of Gibraltar

message: This article has no mentioning of the reason as to why the strait was named Gibraltar(Jebel Tariq) because of the Muslim leader Tariq ibn Ziyad, if anyone could provide with such information it will be very useful. NoPity2 (talk) 08:48, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: It was named after the Muslim man Gibraltar(Jebel Tariq) who crossed the straight in a raid against Visigoths who occupied what is today known as Spain.  The resistance the Islamic raiding band felt from the Visigoths was little and the band decided to stay in Spain, although previously staying was not in the agenda.  These events are what caused the founding of Andalusia in Spain which yielded much culture in 1000 CE.  Andalusia was much more advanced then any of the other European civilizations at that point, all of which were stuck in a system of localism, leading to little trade in those areas.  Since the raiding party was Muslim, the predominant religion in Andalusia after the attack and then final settlement was Islam.  However there were some Christians, left over from the time of the Visigoths, as well as Jews.  These Visigoths and Jewish settlers after the Islamic raid were faced with the option of conversion, or paying a tax for not being Islamic.  If the members of the party did not pay a tax, death was the final option.  However between the religions general peace was had.History Class— Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.64.64.118 (talk • contribs) 23:47, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Etymology

message: What is the potential of this strait and others being used as a source for generating hydroelectricity? With the currents being so powerfull, any size power plant can be constructed to generate electricity silimar to a wind mill, but underwater. Because the strait is so large, Spain and Morocco could build huge hydroelectric plants at the sides that would potentially provide power for hundreds of thousands of homes without much environmental impact. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nadyes (talk • contribs) 21:24, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hydroelectricity Source 

message: The first line of this person states that "The Strait of Gibraltar is the strait that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea."
However, the article about the Mediterranean Sea seems to regard that Sea as part of the Atlantic. Maybe this is just a minor issue of wording, or maybe it's just me that even cares about this :p but isn't that contradicting? :) (RagingR2 22:51, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Is the Mediterranean Sea part of the Atlantic? 

message: Often referred to as "Straits of Gibraltar" e.g. http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/about_gib/geography/gibmap.htm anyone know which one is official!? User:Mintguy
:Straits sounds silly, until I googled it: a strait is both accepted as "strait" and "straits" . Phlebas 14:51, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: It also seems to be referred to as Gibraltar Strait and Gibraltar Straits with some regularity, particularly before WWII but still a bit here and there. (1999 BBC example). As for Strait or Straits, strait seems to be an odd word in English, having an optional s on the end for the singular, so "where is the straits" is proper. (If I'm reading dictionary.com correctly.) Strait of Gibraltar is used elsewhere on the Gibraltar government's site (example), but maybe mentioning the other alternatives would be good if a reliable source could be found. I'll add them as redirects to here anyway. -Agyle 01:15, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Amazing. I have never heard anyone describe this waterway as anything other than the "Straits". Strait sounds ridiculous. I hope this is not yet another example of Wikipedians doing their own personal thing and that this title will be changed to that known by everyone in the English-speaking world: the Straits of Gibraltar. 86.164.77.155 (talk) 19:34, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: "Straits" is the traditional and overwhelmingly preferred form in English. Since some of you don't trust general Google searches or native speakers' experience or dictionaries, then at least trust academic usage. (You've got to trust *something* other than your own preference, right?) For example, I just searched British academic websites (excluding any that mention Wikipedia). There were 14,300 hits for "Straits of Gibraltar" and only about 700 for "Strait of Gibraltar." Clearly, the article should use the preferred and traditional form, with the S on the end. --Steven Capsuto  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.46.167.140 (talk) 18:47, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: So the Wikilink should be Straits of Gibraltar so the proper English term appears in articles, but the annoying green words are not shown. Do others agree?--DThomsen8 (talk) 21:00, 5 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Strait or Straits?

message: :My 26 years in the United States Navy says that its a Strait (singular). There are some Straits - the Turkish Straits (Bosporous and Dardanelles) and The Danish Straits (Kattegat and Skaggerak) for example, but most should be represented as singular; thus, the Strait of Gibraltar is correct. As an aside, one of the oddities of the English language is that its dynamic and evolving. Many grammatical errors of the past are now widely accepted and "authorized" by "authoritative" grammatical texts. "Strait" sounds "ridiculous" to your ear because you've heard it incorrectly referenced so many times. And that's just how the language grows and changes. Thus, one can either try and hold the grammatical line (as I do) or change the language in concert with the masses. One of my favorite examples is the word quay (a wharf). Its correctly pronounced "key" but more frequently mispronounced as "kway". In older dictionaries, only the first pronounciation is given, but in later versions, the second pronounciation is noted as an alternate. No doubt, soon the order will be reversed and eventually the "correct" pronounciation will disappear altogether. But, for now, let's get it right and call the Strait of Gibraltar singular... because it is. There's only one strait there (or, at least, was the last time I passed through it). CharleyHart 14 November 2008   —Preceding unsigned comment added by CharleyHart (talk • contribs) 14:52, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Interesting but... nearly 8-miles wide at its narrowest point does not "a narrow passage of water" make - particularly for ships (really boats) in the 14th century - small by today's standards. But... in good faith, I looked up historical charts and maps of the area (available on line) in Arabic, French, and Spanish. In each case, the strait was noted as singular. I also searched the many online English dictionaries - strait was the only usage in all but one, which had "straits" as an alternate. Finally, the official Government of Gibraltar web site - http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi (who speak the same language as you) refer to it as the Strait of Gibraltar. Additionally, the Spanish exclusively refer to the strait as "el estrecho" (singular - "the strait"). (Admittedly, I do not know how the Moroccans currently refer to the Strait.) But, if the people who live on or near "the rock" call it a strait, then I think we have our answer. CharleyHart (talk) 17:30, 28 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: So the argument for "Strait" is that the United States Navy uses it, and the argument for "Straits" is that the entire English-speaking world uses it apart from some chart-makers in Virginia.  That foreign-language words use a singular noun is no guide to the English language. Hogweard (talk) 06:22, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

text: The OED gives both for the name: singular Strait of Gibraltar for US English, and plural Straits of Gibraltar for UK English. In both cases, the examples refer to the body of water next to the rock as being singular: The rock of Gibraltar stands 450m high, dominating the narrow strait into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean. Bazza (talk) 17:34, 27 April 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed, I am not suggesting that the term strait is incorrect only that the term straits is also correct.  There are many references to the Straits of Gibraltar and as a name and the title of the article they should both be available.  Please note also that the OED when defining 'strait' immediately proceeds with '(or straits)' meaning that both are synonymous and acceptable, for a narrow body of water.  Please check on Google Ngrams and you will see that the term 'Straits of Gibraltar' is more common.  So I think equal emphasis on the title phrase is reasonable.  Anyway, I'm not wishing to argue the point, I've said my piece.  Llamawright (talk) 21:55, 27 April 2020 (UTC)
replies: text:  As stated above, I was not addressing the generic term strait or straits, but the name for Gibraltar's one(s). I know that the OED gives both generic versions, as I supplied both references which say so. I have been WP:BOLD and added the plural version as an alternative in the article's opening paragraph, with a reference. Bazza (talk) 09:06, 28 April 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Strait or Straits? A Response

message: This article may benefit from the picture at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03397 --Joy [shallot] 15:24, 17 August 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  nice picture 

message: The article mentions that a barrage could be created to hold in the Mediterranean sea, but the mediterranean sea already has a sea-level lock-less channel to the red sea. So it would have to be locked here as well.
:I am not an expert on waterflows. What you say sounds logical, but maybe it also has to do with wind directions, etc? I mean, maybe the in- and outflow at Gibraltar is bigger even now than it is atth Suez Canal? While the Strait of Gibraltar is only a narrowing of the sea, the Suez Canal is pretty long; it flows right through Egypt, consisting of two parts with a big lake in between, so are you sure the Suez Canal allows any considerable in- or outflow? I'm just speculating of course...(RagingR2 10:09, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  barrage - required at both ends 

message: Alantropa was a plan to damn the Strait and produce electricity and develop Africa, Should we add a section about this?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mantion (talk • contribs) 10:13, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alantropa 

message: * Strait of Gibraltar- there is very little mentioned about the historical significance of this passage. C1k3 04:53, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Expansion

message: I don't know if it's because of vandalism, but the article stated that "the British part of the Strait is protected under the El Estrecho Natural Park" when it is not true. I've changed it to say "The Iberian side of the strait is protected under the El Estrecho Natural Park".
A map can be found here. Feel free to include it in the Natural Park's article, as I think it is in the Wikipedia Commons. Cremallera (talk) 00:06, 2 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  El Estrecho Natural Park 

message: The article says that the first human inhabitants were Neanderthals. Are Neanderthals classified as human?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.252.4.21 (talk) 15:23, 18 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, though not fully modern humans. They were of the genus homo and most people today would call them human rather than apes or animals.83.254.151.33 (talk) 08:17, 29 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: First Inhabitants

message: Are there " ...salt mines now found under the sea floor all over the Mediterranean..."? Salted is mined beneath the floor of the Sea? How do they get the salt to the surface? Gimelgort 22:11, 31 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Salt mines 

message: The Strait's depth ranges between 300 and 900 metres... which possibly interacted with the lower mean sea level of the last major glaciation. Really no idea what is meant by this sentence. I wonder if someone who knows what is being alluded to might rephrase it suitably? C0pernicus (talk) 11:12, 13 July 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Interacted with

message: The reference we have for the Latin name Fretum Gaditanum is weak.
I have seen Fretum Herculeum is used in medieval sources, but I can't find in my limited searches that it was used by the Romans.
Are we sure what the Romans used?
--Error (talk) 10:44, 24 April 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Latin name 

message: I sought this information within the wiki article on the Strait of Gibraltar but it was not there. So I resewrched using maps and found the two points on each respective continrnt that equals 14 miles, but someone deleted my edit saying that these places don't exist. If you are going to say that Soain is 14 miles from Morocco, understand that that implies there are two soecific piints between which you are measuring. People might wonder out of curiosity exactly where on these ciasts can one stand to be 14 miles from the other point, zs I did. I see no reason to keep this information secret. It would enhance the value of the page and its usefulness to include this detail. So why try and hide this location's identity from the public as one editor seems to want to do? Zengalileo (talk) 23:00, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Find a reliable source which states the locations you used. I  because searching for El Bujero on Google only returns information about Tenerife. Bazza (talk) 09:34, 24 October 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: I have done that and updated the page. Bazza (talk) 09:44, 24 October 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Exactly between what two points does one refer to when saying Spain is 14 miles from Morrocco?