What if~The Mediterranean Sea was drained

As we all know, computers are for more then just social media, they are for finding and learning about some interesting things.

There was one thing that I have found that is we actually had an idea to use human ingenuity to actually drain off the Mediterranean Sea.

So, this sparked an idea. "What if" we had actually drained the Mediterranean sea?

Now, before you go saying on the impossibility of such a project is. It was in fact a reality.

However, the only way for this to happen if certain events were different, a drastically more dire situation, and a great deal of magic.

In the 1920's a German engineer named *Herman Sorgel* had an idea to drain off the Mediterranean. He would call this project *"Atlantropa"*

He would do it by building 3 giant dams on 3 different sides of the sea. One at the *Straight of Gibraltar* (which cuts off the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean). The other would be at the Bospherous river (which separates the Turkish capital of Istanbul and also cutting off the Black Sea's outlet to the Mediterranean), and another that would be almost like a bridge from Tunisia and Sicily.

The idea behind it is to drain enough of the Mediterranean so that it gives Europe more fertile farm land and improve on food production.

Sorgel also wanted Atlantrops to build some kind of "Utopia": a place for people to live in harmony. Just keep in mind that at the time Sorgel came up with his project, Europe was still reeling from the devastation of the first World War.

This plan won't quickly drain off the Mediterranean, instead it'll slowly evaporate.

Though, some of the seas can be drained, but it would also funnel into Africa, so the small lakes in the desert regions of Africa such as Lake Chad and the Congo Lake would be getting more water, which also would change the climate and landscape of Africa.

Now in our reality, this never took shape. Not only was this project too expensive, but also too radical and not in the very least plausible. In also wouldn't be until World War 2 where the Nazis wanted to form their own "Atlantropa" as soon as they won the war, but of course this never happened either since (of course) they lost.

## What if?

But what if in an alternate reality, Sorgel gets the green light by the European nations (or even in the League of Nations) and proceeds to do his project.

In this alternate reality, the Great Depression is a bigger disaster and a lot more people lost their jobs. This problem has spread into Europe and has caused economic crises even worse that what was seen in our reality.

With this economical crises happening, The League of Nations gives the go ahead to Sorgel to his Atlantropa Project.

In order for this to work, some of the European imperialistic ideals never go away. Because some of these ideals have to stay in place for this project to be fully successful. But it is also not to say that it wouldn't require European workers, a lot of construction workers from Britain, France and even Germany.

With the Atlantropa project underway by the mid 1930's. This would create all kinds of jobs across Europe, and because of this Europe will recover from the Depression more quickly than the USA, though the project can also involve American engineers and workers as well (thus helping with the project). This also funnels a lot of money into the Mediterranean regions such as Italy, Spain and even Greece.

With the Depression, this may prevent World War 2 from happening, at least in Europe.

Though, it's just a prediction, especially if the Nazis still come into power in this Alternate reality. But for the sake of this scenario, it doesn't.

Though, I did say that the war wouldn't happen in \*Europe\*. But the USA would still get into war with Japan as the USA still embargoes Japan and it still attacks Pearl Harbor.

The outcome of the Pacific War wouldn't change in this alternate reality. The USA would still win (because of their industrial might).

All the while, the Atlantropa Project is still going on, and some areas of the dams are complete. But it wouldn't be until sometime in either the 1970's or 80's that the entire project will be complete. In theory, the Atlantropa project would cost over $30 Trillion, and took over 40 years to build.

So for the duration of the 20th century, the Mediterranean will be the "Utopia" Sorgel imagined as it's not just an economic powerhouse (with a lot of money and an untold influx of jobs, and tourists).

But, because Sorgel had goos intentions into building this "Utopia" and thus making the Mediterranean region basically a superpower without winning any wars. But as most wise people know that *"Even if your intentions are good, it can backfire drastically."* So, this raises the question: *"Would Sorgel's Utopia would live on forever?"*

Well, the idea Sorgel had was a good idea for the time he imagined it and it did good initially for the Mediterranean. But in reality, what Sorgel's project would do, is bring on a series of ecological disasters.

By around the 2010's of this alternate reality, is when the Mediterranean will begin it's draining process. Giving places like Itlay, Sicily and Greece more land, Sardinia and Corsica would also merge into one single island.

Of course, the initial intention is to have more farm land in the Mediterranean.

The areas that were once underwater would not be the fertile farm land Sorgel had imagined. Instead it'll be huge areas of salt deposits (called *Salt Flats*), and they'll be totally unfit for agriculture. So, these new areas in Europe would look more or less like the Salt Flats in Utah or other areas in the US Southwest. So this was a terrible underestimate by Sorgel. But this is the only the beginning.

In the next several decades (going to say the 2030's), the climate in the Mediterranean will dramatically change. It'll become hotter and drier as the Mediterranean drains and bringing the region closer to North Africa (dominated by the Sahara Desert bringing these hotter, drier conditions. This also brings the possibility of Sand Storms to these heavily populated areas of the Mediterranean (including the city that Sorgel built as well).

In the coming decades as the Mediterranean Sea continues to drain and the Desert Conditions become worse (and common place) in the region. It can also be possible that some of the Mediterranean cities (e.g., Barcelona, Rome and Athens and maybe possibly Istanbul) can be completely consumed by the desert.

One of the fewest to survive will be Venice. Sorgel even knew that Venice's stability depnded upon the water, so he also built a wall in order for Venice to still thrive. But, it'll also fall victim to the harsh desert conditions and the plummeting economy.

With this, a lot of people in Europe (not just in the Mediterranean) could migrate and go to more favorable climates. Some may just go north to Germany, France, Great Britain, Poland, Scandinavia, or perhaps areas in North America, some may go to the huge lakes in Africa. This will create huge refugee crises that can prove disastrous for Europe. By the late 21st century, the Mediterranean utopia Sorgel imagined, the region that was a great economic place in the 20th century and the early 21st century is now a shadow of it's former self.

By the turn of the 22nd century. The Mediterranean will finish draining. But, the damage is already been done with all of the cities in the region now buried under 50 feet mounds of desert sand, and inhabited by new nomadic tribes. Sorgel's Utopia has now become a *"Dystopia"*. A once economic powerhouse is now a desert wasteland.

Herman Sgorel's intentions were indeed pure. The real reason why he wanted to build his Utopia was to unifiy a continent that was devastated by war. Had his project was aprroved, it would unify Europe, but for a period of time. It would also cause a disaster of epic proportions for the Mediterranean. There are reasons why people (with good intentions) want to come up with new ways to help the world, but those good intentions can sometimes have unintended consequences.

Well, that is it for my alt. history page. What do you think would happen if the Mediterranean was drained? Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.