2008 Channel Tunnel fire

Cap Blanc-Nez (French pronunciation: [kap blɑ̃ ne], literally "Cape White Nose" in English; from Dutch Blankenesse, white headland) is a cape on the Côte d'Opale, in the Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France, culminating at 134 m. The cliffs of chalk are very similar to the white cliffs of Dover on the other side of the Channel in England. Cap Blanc-Nez does not protrude into the sea like a typical cape but is a high point where a chalk ridge has been truncated by the sea, forming a cliff that is topped by the obelisk of the Dover Patrol Monument, commemorating the Dover Patrol which kept the Channel free from U-boats during World War I. Cap Blanc-Nez was a vital measuring point for the eighteenth-century trigonometric survey linking the Paris Observatory with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Sightings were made across the English Channel to Dover Castle and Fairlight Windmill on the South Downs. This Anglo-French Survey was led in England by General William Roy. Some miles away to the southwest of Cap Blanc-Nez is the Cap Gris-Nez.

Escalles (French pronunciation: [ɛskal]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

SM UC-61 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916, laid down on 3 April 1916, and was launched on 11 November 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 13 December 1916 as SM UC-61. In five patrols UC-61 was credited with sinking or damaging 12 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-61 was stranded at Wissant, south of Calais on 26 July 1917 on her way to mine Newhaven. The U-boat's crew flooded and scuttled their ship before surrendering to French authorities. The wreckage silted up but in some years becomes visible at low tide offshore in Wissant. As of 24 January 2019, the submarine had been partially visible since December 2018, and some locals were hopeful that due to shifting winds and tides, the submarine would be visible more often.

Wissant (French pronunciation: [ɥisɑ̃]; from Dutch: Witzand, “white sand”) is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Sangatte (French pronunciation: [sɑ̃ɡat]; West Flemish: Zandgat) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand.

Hervelinghen (French pronunciation: [ɛʁvəlɛ̃ɡɑ̃]; West Flemish: Helvetingen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Tardinghen (French pronunciation: [taʁdɛ̃ɡɑ̃]; West Flemish: Terdingem, pronounced [tɛrˈdɪŋəm]; Picard: Tardinghin, pronounced [tardɪŋɛ̃]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Audembert (French pronunciation: [odɑ̃bɛʁ]; West Flemish: Hondsberg) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France.

Peuplingues (French pronunciation: [pœplɛ̃ɡ]; West Flemish: Peuplingen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Saint-Inglevert Airfield is a general aviation airfield at Saint-Inglevert, Pas-de-Calais,[Note 1] France. In the First World War an airfield was established near Saint-Inglevert by the Royal Flying Corps, later passing to the Royal Air Force on formation and thus becoming RAF Saint Inglevert.In 1920, a civil airfield was established on a different site which was a designated customs airfield. During the Second World War, Saint-Inglevert was occupied by the Royal Air Force and the Armée de l'Air. The airfield was captured by the Germans towards the end of the Battle of France and occupied by the Luftwaffe. It was abandoned in 1941, but in 1943 field artillery units were based around the airfield as part of the Atlantic Wall. Although civil flying returned to Saint-Inglevert post-war, the airfield was abandoned in 1957 and returned to agriculture. It was reopened by l'Aéroclub du Boulonnais (English: Boulogne Aero Club) in 1986.

Cap Gris-Nez (literally "cape grey nose"; Koap Zwartenesse (West Flemish)) is a cape located in Audinghen, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France. Part of the Cote d'Opale, it is classified as a protected natural area. The cliffs of the Cape are the closest point of France to England, 34 km (21 mi) from their English counterparts at Dover.

Saint-Inglevert (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.t‿ɛ̃ɡləvɛʁ]; West Flemish: Santingeveld) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.