The New International Encyclopædia/Menai Strait

MENAI (mĕn′ī) STRAIT. The channel which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales (Map: England, B 3). It is 13 miles long and varies in width from about 250 yards to two miles, widening out north of Bangor into Beaumaris Bay. Navigation of it is hazardous, but the strait is nevertheless much used by vessels under 100 tons in order to save time. At the entrance of the strait the tides sometimes rise to a height of 30 feet, and the ordinary neap-tide rises from 10 to 12 feet. The strait is spanned by a suspension bridge, built in 1819-26, and by the Britannia Bridge.