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Bristol Channel

Bristol Channel

3.9
A wide part of the sea between southern Wales and southwestern England
  • proper noun
translation icon : Canal de Bristol
  • The Bristol Channel is known for its strong tides and unique marine life.
  • Bristol Channel and Severn

Examples

  • In historical time, several small ports existed at the mouths of rivers draining into the Bristol Channel from South Wales.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw erosion gaining the upper hand along many sections of the Bristol Channel, but storms were especially numerous during the sixteenth century.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Seiching in southern Britain is not well known, particularly in the Bristol Channel.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Since the decline and destruction of the port, many other large-scale storms have been documented for the Bristol Channel.

    Academic text (1991)
  • During a southwesterly gale in the Bristol Channel on 3 December 2006, a 1.5-meter surge occurred.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Rain clouds cover the country from Lyme Bay to the Bristol Channel, like a vast blanket shaken by the wind, and the edge of the storm reaches north into Wales.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • In this context, the one-hundred-year storm surge for the eastern zone of the Bristol Channel is at present 7.8 meters above the mean high water mark (Williams and Davies 1987b).

    Academic text (1991)
  • For example, a debate is currently taking place over the cause of a catastrophic flood in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in 1607 that appears to have resulted in around 2,000 fatalities.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Wind velocities in excess of 140 kilometers an hour and a surge of 3.1 meters were recorded in the Bristol Channel for this storm, and extensive damage to coastal property and structures resulted (Fig. 5).

    Academic text (1991)
  • During a nighttime gale, the 19 October Times reported, "between 8 and 9 o'clock a huge tidal wave, rolling in from the Bristol Channel at high tide, covered all the low-lying land." The wave flooded the tunnel, and one construction worker drowned.

    Academic text (2009)

Surface Forms

Morphology

Bristol + channel

The name is directly compositional: 'Bristol' (a city/port) + 'channel' (a waterway) yields the meaning of a water passage associated with Bristol. This follows common English place‑name patterns (e.g. 'English Channel'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the general meaning and location.

Etymology

Bristol Channel The name Bristol Channel comes from the city of Bristol and the word channel. A channel is a sea passage, so the name means 'an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean located between southern Wales and southwestern England'.