Back باس (مضيق) Arabic Estrechu de Bass AST Bass boğazı Azerbaijani Басс боғаҙы Bashkir Басаў праліў Byelorussian Басава пратока BE-X-OLD Басов проток Bulgarian ব্যাস প্রণালী Bengali/Bangla Strizh-mor Bass Breton Estret de Bass Catalan
| Bass Strait | |
|---|---|
  Bass Strait | |
 Map of Australia with Bass Strait marked in light blue | |
| Location | Indian Ocean–Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 40°S 146°E / 40°S 146°E |
| Type | Strait |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 500 kilometres (310 miles) |
| Max. width | 350 kilometres (220 miles) |
| Average depth | 60 metres (200 ft) |
| Max. depth | 155 m (509 ft) |
Bass Strait (/bæs/) is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway between the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, and is also the only maritime route into the economically prominent Port Phillip Bay.
Formed 8,000 years ago by rising sea levels at the end of the last glacial period, the strait was named after English explorer and physician George Bass (1771–1803) by European colonists.