A landbridge is a strip of land that connects two landmasses (such as two continents or a continent and an island), or an overland route (such as by rail) for carrying cargo from a port across a country. The word comes from the Dutch language, meaning "a way or passage between two lands". In modern usage, the term is applied to any overland connection between regions or countries that are separated by water. Landbridges have played an important role in the history of migration and trade. Before the development of shipping, land was the most efficient means of transportation, so people developed ways to travel by foot across land bridges when oceans prevented them from going by boat. These included journeys made by explorers who sought new territories, as well as more permanent settlements created by colonists who wanted to start fresh places where they could raise their families in peace. Even today, many large projects involve the use of landbridges. For example, one section of the Trans-Siberian Railroad runs through Russia's Far East, where there are no ports of refuge on the ocean side of the track. Instead, the railroad crosses over land using Vladivostok as its western terminus and Moscow as its eastern terminus. Another example is the Channel Tunnel, which runs under the English Channel from France to England.