The Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland connects the Greenland Sea with the North Atlantic Ocean.
The strait is about 480 kilometres long and approximately 290 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. Despite its name, it does not lie near mainland Denmark; the name reflects Greenland’s political association with Denmark. Iceland forms its southeastern side, while Greenland forms its northwestern side.
The Denmark Strait is famous for the Denmark Strait cataract, an enormous underwater waterfall created when dense, cold water sinks and flows southward beneath warmer water. It is considered the world’s largest known underwater waterfall by water volume.
During the Second World War, the Battle of the Denmark Strait took place there on 24 May 1941. The British battlecruiser HMS Hood was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.