What is the name of the strait separating Europe from Africa at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea?

The Strait of Gibraltar separates Europe from Africa at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

The strait connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. Its northern shore is Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar, while Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta lie on the African side. At its narrowest point, the two continents are about 14 kilometres apart.

The strait’s position has made it strategically important since antiquity. Classical writers associated the entrance with the Pillars of Hercules, traditionally identified with the Rock of Gibraltar and a mountain on the African coast. The Phoenicians, Romans, and later naval powers all used or contested this gateway.

The Strait of Gibraltar is not the Bosporus or the Dardanelles, which connect or border waterways in Turkey. It also differs from the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. These names are sometimes confused because all are major maritime passages.