The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (French: Pas de Calais [pa d(ə)‿kalɛ], literally Strait of Calais, Dutch: Nauw van Calais [nʌu̯ vɑn kaːˈlɛː]) or Straat van Dover is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and North Sea, separating Great Britain from continental Europe. The shortest distance across the strait is from the South Foreland, 33.1 kilometres (20.6 miles) northeast of Dover in the county of Kent, England, to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near to Calais in the French département of Pas-de-Calais, France.