The sea separating the UK from continental Europe to the east is the North Sea.
The North Sea lies between Great Britain and the mainland of northwestern Europe. Its eastern and southern shores include Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The sea connects southward to the Atlantic through the English Channel and northward to the Norwegian Sea. It also links with the Baltic Sea through the Skagerrak and Kattegat.
The North Sea is a relatively shallow sea on Europe’s continental shelf, with an average depth of roughly 95 metres. Its waters support major fishing grounds, offshore wind farms, shipping lanes, and oil and gas fields. The seabed was once partly dry land: during ice ages, a region called Doggerland connected Britain to continental Europe before rising sea levels submerged it.
The English Channel is the most common alternative people confuse with the North Sea, but it lies south of Great Britain and runs between southern England and France. The Irish Sea lies west of Great Britain, between Great Britain and Ireland. The North Sea is the broad waterway along Britain’s eastern side.