Matochkin Strait or Matochkin Shar (Russian: Ма́точкин Шар) is a 323 km² (125 sq mi) strait between the Severny and Yuzhny Islands of Novaya Zemlya. It connects the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. The banks along the strait are high and steep. Its length is approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) and its width in its narrowest part is approximately 600 metres (660 yd). The strait is covered with ice for the most of the year.