The New International Encyclopædia/Cattegat, The

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CAT'TEGAT, or KATTEGAT (anc. Lat. Sinus Codanus), The. The strait or sound separating the east coast of Jutland, Denmark, from the west coast of Sweden, and, by joining the Skagerrak on the west and the Little and Great Belts and the Sound on the east, forming the middle link in the chain of waters connecting the Baltic with the North Sea (Map: Denmark, E 2). It is about 150 miles long, and has a greatest width of about 90 miles. Its depths are very unequal, varying in the deepest portions in the western part from 40 to 65 feet, and in the eastern part from 100 to 200 feet. It offers dangers to navigation on account of its numerous shoals and the frequency of stormy winds. Its principal islands are Läsö, at the north, Anholt, near the middle, and Samsö, at the south. The eastern shores are steep and rocky, but those on the west are low.