The Bosporus is 19 miles (30 km) long, with a maximum width of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) at the northern entrance and a minimum width of 2,450 feet (750 m) between the Ottoman fortifications of Rumelihisarı and Anadoluhisarı. Its depth varies from 120 to 408 feet (36.5 to 124 m) in midstream. In its centre a rapid current flows from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, but a countercurrent below the surface carries water of greater salinity from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. The Bosporus is heavily fished, since the channel is a seasonal migration route for fish to and from the Black Sea. Both shores are well wooded and are dotted with villages, resorts, and fine residences and villas.

Bosporus literally means “ox ford” and is traditionally connected with the legendary figure of Io, who in the form of a heifer crossed the Thracian Bosporus in her wanderings. Because of its strategic importance for the defense of Constantinople (now Istanbul), straddling the southern end of the strait, the Byzantine emperors and later the Ottoman sultans constructed fortifications along its shores, especially on the European side. Two noteworthy examples are the castles of Anadoluhisarı, which was constructed on the Asian shore by Bayezid I in 1390–91, and Rumelihisarı, built directly across the strait by Mehmed II in 1452.