Sangatte
| Sangatte | |
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 Sangatte
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Location within Hauts-de-France region
Sangatte
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| Coordinates: 50°56′51″N 1°45′27″E / 50.9475°N 1.7575°ECoordinates: 50°56′51″N 1°45′27″E / 50.9475°N 1.7575°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais |
| Arrondissement | Calais |
| Canton | Calais-Nord-Ouest |
| Intercommunality | Calaisis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2014-2020) | Guy Allemand |
| Area1 | 14.28 km2 (5.51 sq mi) |
| Population (2012)2 | 4,719 |
| • Density | 330/km2 (860/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 62774 /62231 |
| Elevation | 0–151 m (0–495 ft) (avg. 4 m or 13 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Sangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel.
Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish (Dutch) origin (Zandgat) and means "gap in the sand".
Sangatte became internationally famous because of the works for the Channel Tunnel and is the location for the tunnel's French cooling station, its British counterpart being at Samphire Hoe. In addition, it is the French end-point for the HVDC Cross-Channel, the connection between the UK and French electricity grids.
'Blériot-Plage' is named to commemorate Louis Blériot who, on the July 25, 1909, was the first person to fly across the English Channel. He flew from the beach at Sangatte to the White Cliffs of Dover, to claim the prize offered by the Daily Mail. The crossing took 37 minutes in his aeroplane, Blériot XI, built in collaboration with Raymond Saulnier. It was powered by a 3-cylinder 25 horsepower (19 kW) engine.
At the western end of the beach, a statue of the French aviator Hubert Latham overlooks the sea (50°55′50″N 1°43′16″E / 50.93044°N 1.7211°E). Latham was another pioneering cross-channel pilot whose earlier attempt on July 19 had failed.
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Wikipedia