Why do straits exist between lands?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Rising seas flood valleys
Rising seas flood valleys ✓ — Correct! Straits are narrow water passages connecting larger bodies. Many formed when sea levels rose after ice ages, flooding valleys between landmasses. Gibraltar Strait separates Africa/Europe; it formed when the Mediterranean refilled. Some straits form from tectonic activity or erosion, but sea level rise is most common!
Rivers carved through land — Wrong. Rivers don't carve straits between landmasses. Most straits formed when rising sea levels after the ice age flooded low-lying valleys between higher land areas.
Tectonic plates split land — Wrong. Tectonics can create straits, but most formed from rising seas flooding valleys after ice ages ended and glaciers melted.