Coordinates: 66°0′N 169°0′W / 66.000°N 169.000°W
The Bering Strait (Russian: Берингов пролив, Beringov proliv, Yupik: Imakpik) is a strait of the Pacific, which borders with the Arctic to north. It is located between Russia and the United States. Named after Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer in the service of the Russian Empire, it lies slightly south of the Arctic Circle being at about 65° 40' N latitude. The present Russia-US east-west boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W.
The Strait has been the subject of the scientific hypothesis that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – perhaps a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been the dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century.