La Pérouse Strait (Japanese: Sōya Strait 宗谷海峡) is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. It is 40km (25 miles) long and 20 to 40m deep. Simplified diagram A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. ... Sakhalin (Russian: ), also Saghalien, is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N. It is part of the Russian Federation and is its largest island. ... Hokkaido â–¶ (help· info) (北海道 Hokkaidō, literal meaning: North Sea Route, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo, is the second largest island and largest prefecture of Japan. ... The Sea of Japan (East Sea) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. ... Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk (named after Okhotsk, the first Russian settlement in the Far East) is a part of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaido to the far south, the island...

The strait is named for Jean-François de La Pérouse, who explored the channel in 1787. Lapérouse by François Rude (1784-1855), in 1828 Lapérouse Jean François Galaup, count (comte) de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741 - 1788) was a French naval officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania. ... 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...