[1] 80 km (50 mi) wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth of 1,700 m (5,600 ft).

With Navassa Island on its southern approach, it connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is in the direct path of shipping between the Panama Canal and the eastern seaboard of the United States.

[3] The last rupture of this fault occurred in 1842; the resulting earthquake and tsunami devastated Cap Haitien.

Considerable seismic hazard continues to exist on this fault: The Windward Passage region was studied in detail by a voyage of the EV Nautilus in August 2014, assisted by the ROV Hercules.

[5] This expedition provided measurements of water circulation through the straight, as well as observations of animal life on the deep continental shelf.