What is the name of the narrow strait separating Asia from North America?

The Bering Strait is the narrow waterway separating Asia from North America.

It lies between Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula and Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. At its narrowest point, the two continents are separated by roughly 85 kilometres of water. The Diomede Islands sit in the strait: Big Diomede belongs to Russia, while Little Diomede belongs to the United States.

The strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born explorer who led a Russian expedition that reached the region in 1728. During ice ages, lower sea levels exposed Beringia, a broad land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska. Archaeologists and geneticists associate this region with migrations of people and animals between Asia and the Americas.

The Bering Strait also separates the Eastern and Western Hemispheres according to commonly used geographic conventions. The International Date Line passes between the Diomede Islands, creating a difference of almost one calendar day despite their close physical distance.