London to Johannesburg

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London
UK

London, capital city of the United Kingdom

START
The English
Channel

The English Channel

15 mins
128 km
The European
Alps

The European Alps

1hr
804 km
Corsica and
Sardinia

The islands of Corsica and Sardinia

1hr 40mins
1,335 km
Tunis to
Tripoli

The Coastline from Tunis to Tripoli

2hr 55mins
2,414 km
Libya
Mega-Fezzan

The Fezzan region and Lake Mega-fezzan

3 hrs 30 mins
2,896 km
Chad
The Tibesti

The Volcanic TIbesti Mountain Range.

4 hrs 10 mins
3,701 km
Chad
Bodélé

The Bodélé Depression - the "dustiest place on earth".

4hrs 30mins
4,184 km
DRC
River Congo

The River Congo Basin

6hrs 50mins
5,632 km
Zambezi River
Zambia

Zambezi

9 hrs
7,402 km
Botswana
Makgadikgadi

Botswana and Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

10hrs 10mins
8,368 km
South Africa
Johannesburg

Johannesburg - The Beating Heart of Africa

11hrs
9,012 km

Close

The English Channel

In France, the Channel is called La Manche, or "the sleeve".

At its narrowest, the English Channel is 34 kilometres across.

The Channel Tunnel was built at a speed of 100 - 150m per day.

The English Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world.

The Channel Tunnel is 50km long.

400 ships cross the English Channel every day.

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Flying at 12,000m - The creation of the English Channel

Aerial view of England, France and the English Channel.

The full width of the English Channel from the air.

The white cliffs of Saint Valery en Caux, in Normandie on the French side of the Channel.

Geological map of England, The Channel and Pays-de-Calais: notice the similarities in rock type either side of the Channel.

A ferry leaves a busy port off the French coast.

Satellite view of the English Channel.

The sheer face of the White Cliffs of Dover.

The full width of the English Channel from the air.

English Channel with cloud cover and sediment in the water.

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Flying at 4,000m - Defending the English Channel

Sea forts built near the Thames Estuary during WWII as a coastal defence.

Coastal WWII observation tower.

Cartoon 'the laugh at the end of the tunnel'.

16th century map of Cornwall and the English Channel.

60 year old concrete coastal defences.

Interior door of the Eurotunnel.

Rail networks going underground at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.

Fort Whalney searchlight emplacement.

Map of the Channel Tunnel beneath the English Channel.

The complicated road and rail network at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel.

A truck emerging at great speed on a train through the Channel Tunnel.

Inside the 50km long Channel Tunnel.

Cross section of Eurotunnel underneath the English Channel.

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Flying at ground level - The world's busiest shipping channel

The white wake of ships crossing the narrow English Channel.

RGS Archive image

17th century map of the English Channel and adjacent countries.

A light house sits on the White Cliffs of Dover to help with maratime navigation.

Passenger ferry crossing the English Channel in front of the White Cliffs of Dover.

RGS Archive image

19th Century Royal Cruising Club chart showing the main lighthouses across the English Channel.

The Artemis, washed up onto the beach at Les Sables d'Olonne during storms in 2008.

P&O and SeaFrance ferries crossing the English Channel in close proximity.

18th century chart of the Channel between England and France.

Two enormous oil and gas containers navigate the channel between Dunkerque and Dover.

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© 2013 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)