English Channel

Splash, splash, I go all day long. I am the big, wavy water between two green lands. Little fish tickle my waves, and big white boats sail on my back like giant ducks. I feel the wind and the sun. Hello. I am the English Channel. I love to connect my two special shores, one called England and the other called France. I feel happy when I help bring friends together.

A very, very long time ago, I was made when big ice melted and filled me up with sparkly water. I have watched people in boats travel across me for a long, long time. One sunny day in the year 1875, a brave man named Matthew Webb was the first person to swim all the way across me. Splash, splash, he went. Later, on July 25th, 1909, a pilot named Louis Blériot flew right over me in his little airplane. Vroom. He looked like a tiny bird in the big sky. And then, on May 6th, 1994, something amazing happened. A super long tunnel opened way down deep underneath me. Now a train can zoom from one side to the other. Whoosh.

Today, I am busier than ever. Big boats called ferries carry cars and families across my back. They wave to the seagulls as they go. And deep below, the choo-choo train under the sea connects friends in a flash. I am not a wall that keeps people apart. I am like a big, watery bridge that brings them together. If you ever visit my shores, you can wave hello to my sparkly waves. I will always wave right back.