Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Home / Recent Videos / Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea in Recent Videos 16/05/2015 Suez Canal is the largest man-made artificial sea-level waterway found in Egypt. It was opened in the 1869 to allow water transportation between Europe and Asia to avoid ships navigation around Africa. The canal original size was 164 km long and 8metre deep. However enlargements have been undertaken and it now has a length of 193.30 km and its 24 metres deep. It also has a northern access channel of 22 km and 9 km southern access. The canal has a northern terminus known as Port Said and a southern terminus called Port Tewfik. Suez Canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt. A treaty signed under the International Treaty Act shows that the canal can be used in times of war or peace by every vessel of commerce or of war and no flag is required for distinction.

The canal allows passage of ships up to 20 metres and with weight of 240,000 tons. The height allowed above water is a maximum of 68 metres. Big ships offload their cargo to canal- owned boats to reduce their weight and reload later at the end of the canal. Suez Canal attracts a lot of visitors who come to see the amazing wonders of this man made sea. It serves as the first salt water passage between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The canal has attracted attention from film makers. A film known as Suez was made in 1938 and it’s based on the canal’s history. Also in the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, a character known as Nautilus travels through an underwater passage beneath the Suez Canal. All these highlight the canal as a very import part in opening up Africa to other parts of the world. Source: Amr Fathey Suez Canal - Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea - YouTube Suez Canal - Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video?

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Feb 24, 2013 For Egypt Holidays visit our website: Suez Canal - Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea Suez Canal is the largest man-made artificial sea-level waterway found in Egypt. It was opened in the 1869 to allow water transportation between Europe and Asia to avoid ships navigation around Africa. The canal original size was 164 km long and 8metre deep. However enlargements have been undertaken and it now has a length of 193.30 km and its 24 metres deep. It also has a northern access channel of 22 km and 9 km southern access. The canal has a northern terminus known as Port Said and a southern terminus called Port Tewfik. Suez Canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt. A treaty signed under the International Treaty Act shows that the canal can be used in times of war or peace by every vessel of commerce or of war and no flag is required for distinction.

The canal allows passage of ships up to 20 metres and with weight of 240,000 tons. The height allowed above water is a maximum of 68 metres. Big ships offload their cargo to canal- owned boats to reduce their weight and reload later at the end of the canal. Suez Canal attracts a lot of visitors who come to see the amazing wonders of this man made sea. It serves as the first salt water passage between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The canal has attracted attention from film makers. A film known as Suez was made in 1938 and it's based on the canal's history. Also in the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, a character known as Nautilus travels through an underwater passage beneath the Suez Canal. All these highlight the canal as a very import part in opening up Africa to other parts of the world. Subscribe, Like and coment the video for more content. Thanks for watching. Suez Canal: History and Overview - Geography Geography Suez Canal Connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea Egptian Suez Canal Has Been Center of Conflict The guided missile destroyer USS Scott transits the Suez Canal.

Getty Images Suez Canal Construction History Although the Suez Canal wasn't officially completed until 1869, there is a long history of interest in connecting both the Nile River in Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is believed that the first canal in the area was constructed between the Nile River delta and the Red Sea in the 13th Century B.C.E. During the 1,000 years following its construction, the original canal was neglected and its use finally stopped in the 8th Century. The first modern attempts to build a canal came in the late 1700s when Napoleon Bonaparte conducted an expedition to Egypt. He believed that building a French controlled canal on the Isthmus of Suez would cause trade problems for the British as they would either have to pay dues to France or continue sending goods over land or around the southern part of Africa. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Studies for Napoleon's canal plan began in 1799 but a miscalculation in measurement showed the sea levels between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas as being too different for a canal to be feasible and construction immediately stopped.

The next attempt to build a canal in the area occurred in the mid-1800s when a French diplomat and engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps, convinced the Egyptian viceroy Said Pasha to support the building of a canal. In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was formed and given the right to begin construction of the canal and operate it for 99 years, after which time, the Egyptian government would take over control of the canal. At its founding, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was owned by French and Egyptian interests. Construction of the Suez Canal officially began on April 25, 1859. It opened ten years later on November 17, 1869 at a cost of $100 million. Suez Canal Use and Control Almost immediately after its opening, the Suez Canal had a significant impact on world trade as goods were moved around the world in record time. In 1875, debt forced Egypt to sell its shares in ownership of the Suez Canal to the United Kingdom . However, an international convention in 1888 made the canal available for all ships from any nation to use.

Shortly thereafter, conflicts began to arise over use and control of the Suez Canal. In 1936 for example, the U.K. was given the right to maintain military forces in the Suez Canal Zone and control entry points. In 1954, Egypt and the U.K. signed a seven year contract that resulted in the withdrawal of British forces from the canal area and allowed Egypt to take control of the former British installations. In addition, with the creation of Israel in 1948, the Egyptian government prohibited the use of the canal by ships coming and going from the country. Also in the 1950s, the Egyptian government was working on a way to finance the Aswan High Dam . Initially it had support from the United States and the U.K. but in July 1956, both nations withdrew their support and the Egyptian government seized and nationalized the canal so passage fees could be used to pay for the dam. On October 29 of that same year, Israel invaded Egypt and two days later Britain and France followed on grounds that passage through the canal was to be free. In retaliation, Egypt blocked the canal by intentionally sinking 40 ships.

These events were known as the Suez Crisis. In November 1956, the Suez Crisis ended when the United Nations arranged a truce between the four nations. The Suez Canal then reopened in March 1957 when the sunken ships were removed. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Suez Canal was closed several more times because of conflicts between Egypt and Israel. In 1962, Egypt made its final payments for the canal to its original owners (the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company) and the nation took full control of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal Today Today, the Suez Canal is operated by the Suez Canal Authority. The canal itself is 101 miles (163 km) long and 984 feet (300 m) wide. It begins at the Mediterranean Sea at Point Said flows through Ismailia in Egypt, and ends at Suez on the Gulf of Suez. It also has a railroad running its entire length parallel to its west bank.

The Suez Canal can accommodate ships with a vertical height (draft) of 62 feet (19 m) or 210,000 deadweight tons. Most of the Suez Canal is not wide enough for two ships to pass side by side. To accommodate this, there is one shipping lane and several passing bays where ships can wait for others to pass. The Suez Canal has no locks because Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez have approximately the same water level. It takes around 11 to 16 hours to pass through the canal and ships must travel at a low speed to prevent erosion of the canal's banks by the ships' waves. Significance of the Suez Canal In addition to dramatically reducing transit time for trade worldwide, the Suez Canal is one of the world's most significant waterways as it supports 8% of the world's shipping traffic and almost 50 ships pass through the canal daily. Because of its narrow width, the canal is also considered a significant geographic chokepoint as it could easily be blocked and disrupt this flow of trade.

Future plans for the Suez Canal include a project to widen and deepen the canal to accommodate the passage of larger and more ships at one time. To read more about the Suez Canal visit the Suez Canal Authority official website. Map of Suez Canal - Suez Canal Map, History Facts, Suez Canal Location - World Atlas SUEZ CANAL Suez Canal - Map & Details The Suez Canal, mostly man made, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Gulf of Suez. The canal opened in 1869, and remains one of the planet's busiest shipping lanes. Through it the vast percentage of Europe's energy needs are transported from the Middle East oil fields. This vital corridor of commerce has been closed due to war twice. The most recent closing occurred during the Six-Day War (in 1967), a brief war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. A terrific photo by NASA: the Suez Canal . Canal History Canal History Time in SC: GMT+2 Canal & The Society The Suez Canal ’s role is not confined to servicing the world trade. It goes beyond that to serve the Canal Zone community ...

Canal History Historical Outline: Egypt was the first country to dig a man-made canal across its lands to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the branches of the River Nile. The first who dug it was Senausert III, Pharaoh of Egypt (1874 B.C.). This canal was abandoned to silting and reopened several times as follows: - Canal of Sity I 640 A.D. The Suez Canal is actually the first canal that directly links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was opened for navigation on the 17 th of November 1869. Egypt nationalized the canal on the 26 th of July 1956. The Canal was closed five times; the last time was the most serious one since it lasted for 8 years. The Canal was then reopened for navigation on the 5 th of June 1975. Suez Canal History: It is recorded that Egypt was the first country to dig a canal across its land with a view to activate world trade.

The Suez Canal is considered to be the shortest link between the east and the west due to its unique geographic location; it is an important international navigation canal linking between the Mediterranean sea at Port said and the red sea at Suez. The idea of linking the Mediterranean sea with the red sea by a canal dates back to 40 centuries as it was pointed out through history starting by the pharaohs era passing by the Islamic era until it was dredged reaching its current condition today. It is considered to be the first artificial canal to be used in Travel and Trade. The Whole Idea of establishing a canal linking between the red sea and the Mediterranean dates back to the oldest times, as Egypt dredged the first artificial canal on the planet’s surface. The pharaohs dredged a canal link in between river Nile and the red sea. The inscriptions in the tomb of Weni the Elder, who lived during the 6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (c. 2407-2260 BC) tell us a lot about Egyptian canal building and the reasons for building them - (for war ships and for transporting monument stone). Scholars are still debating, however, whether his waterways ran all the way from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

The first canal was dug under the reign of Senausret III, Pharao of Egypt (1887-1849 BC) linking the Mediterranean Sea in the north with the Red sea in the south via the river Nile and its branches. The Canal often abandoned to silting and was successfully reopened to navigation by Sity I (1310 BC), Necho II (610 BC), Persian King Darius (522 BC), Polemy II (285 BC), Emperor Trajan (117 AD) and Amro Ibn Elass (640 AD), following the Islamic conquest. Under Necho II , a canal was built between the Pelusian branch of the Nile and the northern end of the Bitter Lakes (which lies between the two seas) at a cost of, reportedly, 100,000 lives. However, over many years, the canal fell into disrepair, only to be extended, abandoned, and rebuilt again.

Necho was the first who attempted the channel leading to the Erythraian Sea (Red sea and Gulf of Suez which was extended to near by Ismailia city), which Dareios the Persian afterwards completed: the length of this is a voyage of four days, and in breadth it was so dug that two triremes could go side by side driven by oars; and the water is brought into it from the Nile. The channel is conducted a little above the city of Bubastis (near by Zagazig city) by Patumos the Arabian city (Near by Ismailia city), and runs into the Erythraian Sea: and it is dug first along those parts of the plain of Egypt which lie towards Arabia (Eastern desert), just above which run the mountains which extend opposite Memphis (south of Cairo), where are the stone-quarries,--along the base of these mountains the channel is conducted from West to East for a great way; and after that it is directed towards a break in the hills and tends from these mountains towards the noon-day and the South Wind to the Arabian gulf (Gulf of Suez).

Now in the place where the journey is least and shortest from the Northern to the Southern Sea (which is also called Erythraian), that is from Mount Casion (east of Port Said), which is the boundary between Egypt and Syria, the distance is exactly a thousand furlongs (1 furlongs equals about 200 meter) to the Arabian gulf; but the channel is much longer, since it is more winding; and in the reign of Necos there perished while digging it twelve myriads of the Egyptians. Now Necos ceased in the midst of his digging, because the utterance of an Oracle impeded him, which was to the effect that he was working for the Barbarian: and the Egyptians call all men Barbarians who do not agree with them in speech. After having been neglected, it was rebuilt by the Persian ruler, Darius I (522-486 BC), whose canal can still be seen along the Wadi Tumilat. According to Herodotus, his canal was wide enough that two triremes could pass each other with oars extended, and that it took four days to navigate.

He commemorated the completion of his canal with a series of granite stelae set up along the Nile bank. This canal is said to have been extended to the Red Sea by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC), abandoned during the early Roman rule, but rebuilt again by Trajan (98-117 AD). Over the next several centuries, it once again was abandoned and sometimes dredged by various rulers for various but limited purposes. Amro Ibn Elass rebuilt the canal after the Islamic takeover of Egypt linking the Nile to the Red Sea creating a new supply line from Cairo . It was used for shipping grain to Arabia and to transport the pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The canal was stopped up in 767 AD by the Abbasid caliph El-Mansur to cut off supplies to insurgents located in the Delta and to starve out rebels in Medina. In modern times the Suez Canal is actually the first canal directly linking the Mediterranean to the Red sea. The first efforts to build a modern canal came from the Egypt expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte, who hoped the project would create a devastating trade problem for the English.

Though this project was begun in 1799 by Charles Le Pere, a miscalculation estimated that the levels between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea were too great (estimating that the Red Sea was some ten meters higher than that of the Mediterranean Sea) and work was quickly suspended. Napoleon was told that the Red Sea was 30 feet higher than the Mediterranean. Dig a canal, his surveyors said, and the Red Sea will hemorrhage into the Mediterranean. Napoleon's engineers also considered the idea of a canal running directly between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, but they miscalculated a difference of ten meters between the two sea levels and gave up the idea, and it would sweep away the Nile Delta. Then, in 1833, a group of French intellectuals known as the Saint-Simoniens arrived in Cairo and they became very interested in the Suez project despite such problems as the difference in sea levels. Unfortunately, at that time Mohammed Ali had little interest in the project, and in 1835, the Saint-Simoniens were devastated by a plague epidemic. Most of the twenty or so engineers returned to France.

They did leave behind several enthusiasts for the canal, including Ferdinand de Lesseps (who was then the French vice-consul in Alexandria) and Linant de Bellefonds In Paris, the Saint-Simoniens created an association in 1846 to study the possibility of the Suez Canal once again. In 1847, Bourdaloue confirmed that there was no real difference in the levels between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and it was Linant de Bellefonds that drew up the technical report. Unfortunately, there was considerable British opposition to the project, and Mohammed Ali, who was ill by this time, was less than enthusiastic. In 1854 the French diplomat and engineer Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps succeeded in enlisting the interest of the Egyptian viceroy Said Pasha in the project. In 1858 La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez (Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal) was formed with authority to cut a canal and to operate it for 99 years, after which ownership would return to the Egyptian government. The company was originally a private Egyptian concern, its stock owned chiefly by French and Egyptian interests.

In 1875 the British government purchased Egypt's shares. The pilot study estimated that a total of 2,613 million cubic feet of earth would have to be moved, including 600 million on land, and another 2,013 million dredged from water. The total original cost estimate was 200 million francs. When at first the company ran into financial problems, it was Pasha Said who purchased 44 percent of the company to keep it in operation. However, the British and Turks were concerned with the venture and managed to have work suspended for a short time, until the intervention of Napoleon III. Excavation of the canal actually began on April 25th, 1859, and between then and 1862, the first part of the canal was completed. However, after Ismail succeeded Pasha Said in 1863, the work was again suspended. After Ferdinand De Lesseps again appealed to Napoleon III, an international commission was formed in March of 1864. The commission resolved the problems and within three years, the canal was completed.

On November 17, 1869 the barrage of the Suez plains reservoir was breached and waters of the Mediterranean flowed into the Red Sea and the canal was opened for international navigation. Completion of the 160- kilometer long waterway, however, took ten years of excruciating and poorly compensated labor by Egyptian workers, who were drafted at the rate of 20,000 every ten months from the ranks of the peasantry. The completion of the Suez Canal was a cause for considerable celebration. In Port Said , the extravaganza began with fireworks and a ball attended by six thousand people. They included many heads of state, including the Empress Eugenie, the Emperor of Austria, the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Prussia and the Prince of the Netherlands. Two convoys of ships entered the canal from its southern and northern points and met at Ismailia. Parties continued for weeks, and the celebration also marked the opening of Ismail's old Opera House in Cairo , which is now gone.

Because of external debts, the British government purchased the shares owned by Egyptian interests, namely those of Said Pasha, in 1875, for some 400,000 pounds sterling. Yet France continued to have a majority interest. Under the terms of an international convention signed in 1888 (The Convention of Constantinople), the canal was opened to vessels of all nations without discrimination, in peace and war. Nevertheless, Britain considered the canal vital to the maintenance of its maritime power and colonial interests. Therefore, the provisions of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 allowed Britain to maintain a defensive force along the Suez Canal Zone. However, Egyptian nationalists demanded repeatedly that Britain evacuate the Suez Canal Zone, and in 1954 the two countries signed a seven-year agreement that superseded the 1936 treaty and provided for the gradual withdrawal of all British troops from the zone. The canal remained under the control of two powers until Nasser nationalized it in 1956; it has since been operated by the Suez Canal Authority . The canal was closed to navigation twice in the contemporary period.

The first closure was brief, coming after the tripartite British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956, an invasion primarily motivated by the nationalization of the waterway. The canal was reopened in 1957. The second closure occurred after the June 1967 War with Israel and lasted until 1975, when Egypt and Israel signed the second disengagement accord. After July 1952 Revolution, president Gamal Abd El Naser publicized the canal in announcement in (26 July, 1956) making the management of the canal a 100% Egyptian, which enraged the major countries leading to the Triad assault on Egypt in (29 October, 1956) which caused to the closing of the canal and it was reopened in (march 1957). Canal History 13th century BCE, A canal is constructed between the Nile Delta and the Red Sea. For the following centuries, the canal was only partially maintained... 1854, By a French initiative, the viceroy of Egypt, Said Pasha, decides for a project to build a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea...

1858, La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez is formed to construct the canal. 17 Nov 1869, With great splendour, the canal is opened for navigation. Dimensions were 22 metre in bottom width, 58 metre in surface width, and a depth of 8 metres... 2 Mar 1888, The Convention of Constantinople guaranteed right of passage of all ships through the Suez Canal during war and peace... 13 Jun 1956, Suez Canal Zone restored to Egypt. 26 Jul 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. 5 Jun 1975, Suez Canal reopened... What two bodies of water does the Suez Canal connect? | Reference.com What two bodies of water does the Suez Canal connect? A: Quick Answer The two bodies of water connected by the Suez Canal are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The Suez Canal is located through a narrow strip of land in the north of Egypt. Full Answer The Suez Canal was opened to commercial shipping in 1869.

The canal measures 100.82 miles, with a northern access channel 14 miles in length and a southern access channel 5.6 miles long. Its northern point on the Mediterranean sea is Port Said, while its southern point along the Red Sea is Port Tewfik. The canal reduces the sea voyage between Europe and Asia by about 4,300 miles. Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Home / Shipping News / Port News / Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea Suez Canal – Connects the Mediterranean sea to the Red sea in Port News 26/01/2015 The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس‎ Qanāt al-Sūwais) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows ship transport between Europe and eastern Asia without navigation around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is Port Tawfiq at the city of Suez.

Ismailia lies on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) from the half-way point. When first built, the canal was 164 km (102 mi) long and 8 m (26 ft) deep. After several enlargements, the canal is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) long, 24 m (79 ft) deep and 205 metres (673 ft) wide as of 2010.[2] It consists of the northern access channel of 22 km (14 mi), the canal itself of 162.25 km (100.82 mi) and the southern access channel of 9 km (5.6 mi). The canal is single lane with passing places in the “Ballah By-Pass” and the Great Bitter Lake. It contains no locks; seawater flows freely through the canal. In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. The current south of the lakes changes with the tide at Suez.

The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of Egypt. Under international treaty, it may be used “in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag.” The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red seas, is inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony attended by French Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the former French consul to Cairo, secured an agreement with the Ottoman governor of Egypt to build a canal 100 miles across the Isthmus of Suez. An international team of engineers drew up a construction plan, and in 1856 the Suez Canal Company was formed and granted the right to operate the canal for 99 years after completion of the work. Construction began in April 1859, and at first digging was done by hand with picks and shovels wielded by forced laborers. Later, European workers with dredgers and steam shovels arrived. Labor disputes and a cholera epidemic slowed construction, and the Suez Canal was not completed until 1869–four years behind schedule.

On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal was opened to navigation. Ferdinand de Lesseps would later attempt, unsuccessfully, to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. When it opened, the Suez Canal was only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface. Consequently, fewer than 500 ships navigated it in its first full year of operation. Major improvements began in 1876, however, and the canal soon grew into the one of the world’s most heavily traveled shipping lanes. In 1875, Great Britain became the largest shareholder in the Suez Canal Company when it bought up the stock of the new Ottoman governor of Egypt. Seven years later, in 1882, Britain invaded Egypt, beginning a long occupation of the country. The Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 made Egypt virtually independent, but Britain reserved rights for the protection of the canal.

After World War II, Egypt pressed for evacuation of British troops from the Suez Canal Zone, and in July 1956 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for construction of a massive dam on the Nile River. In response, Israel invaded in late October, and British and French troops landed in early November, occupying the canal zone. Under pressure from the United Nations, Britain and France withdrew in December, and Israeli forces departed in March 1957. That month, Egypt took control of the canal and reopened it to commercial shipping. Ten years later, Egypt shut down the canal again following the Six Day War and Israel’s occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. For the next eight years, the Suez Canal, which separates the Sinai from the rest of Egypt, existed as the front line between the Egyptian and Israeli armies. In 1975, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat reopened the Suez Canal as a gesture of peace after talks with Israel. Today, an average of 50 ships navigate the canal daily, carrying more than 300 million tons of goods a year.

Source: SpiesLeaks (YouTube) Suez Canal | canal, Egypt | Britannica.com Suez Canal Ferdinand, viscount de Lesseps Suez Canal, Arabic Qanāt al-Suways, sea-level waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas. The canal separates the African continent from Asia , and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes. The canal extends 120 miles (193 km) between Port Said (Būr Saʿīd) in the north and Suez in the south, with dredged approach channels north of Port Said, into the Mediterranean, and south of Suez. The canal does not take the shortest route across the isthmus , which is only 75 miles (121 km).

Instead, it utilizes several lakes: from north to south, Lake Manzala (Buḥayrat al-Manzilah), Lake Timsah (Buḥayrat al-Timsāḥ), and the Bitter Lakes—Great Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Kubrā) and Little Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Ṣughrā). The Suez Canal is an open cut, without locks , and, though extensive straight lengths occur, there are eight major bends. To the west of the canal is the low-lying delta of the Nile River , and to the east is the higher, rugged, and arid Sinai Peninsula . Prior to construction of the canal (completed in 1869), the only important settlement was Suez, which in 1859 had 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants. The rest of the towns along its banks have grown up since, with the possible exception of Al-Qanṭarah. Ships in the Suez Canal in Egypt.

One of the world’s most important shipping lanes, the Suez Canal … © Oleksandr Kalinichenko/Shutterstock.com canals and inland waterways: The Suez Canal Geology The Isthmus of Suez , the sole land bridge between the continents of Africa and Asia, is of relatively recent geologic origin. Both continents once formed a single large continental mass, but during the Paleogene and Neogene periods (about 66 to 2.6 million years ago) the great fault structures of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba developed, with the opening and subsequent drowning of the Red Sea trough as far as the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. In the succeeding Quaternary Period (about the past 2.6 million years), there was considerable oscillation of sea level , leading finally to the emergence of a low-lying isthmus that broadened northward to a low-lying open coastal plain.

There the Nile delta once extended farther east—as a result of periods of abundant rainfall coincident with the Pleistocene Epoch (2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago)—and two river arms, or distributaries, formerly crossed the northern isthmus, one branch reaching the Mediterranean Sea at the narrowest point of the isthmus and the other entering the sea some 9 miles (14.5 km) east of present Port Said. Physiography Mosque of ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ Topographically, the Isthmus of Suez is not uniform. There are three shallow water-filled depressions: Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes; though distinguished as Great and Little, the Bitter Lakes form one continuous sheet of water. A number of more-resistant bands of limestone and gypsum obtrude in the south of the isthmus, and another significant feature is a narrow valley leading from Lake Timsah southwestward toward the middle Nile delta and Cairo .

The isthmus is composed of marine sediments, coarser sands, and gravels deposited in the early periods of abundant rainfall, Nile alluvium (especially to the north), and windblown sands. When first opened in 1869, the canal consisted of a channel barely 26 feet (8 metres) deep, 72 feet (22 metres) wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 metres) wide at the surface. To allow ships to pass each other, passing bays were built every 5 to 6 miles (8 to 10 km). Construction involved the excavation and dredging of 97 million cubic yards (74 million cubic metres) of sediments. Between 1870 and 1884 some 3,000 groundings of ships occurred because of the narrowness and tortuousness of the channel.

Major improvements began in 1876, and, after successive widenings and deepenings, the canal by the 1960s had a minimum width of 179 feet (55 metres) at a depth of 33 feet (10 metres) along its banks and a channel depth of 40 feet (12 metres) at low tide . Also in that period, passing bays were greatly enlarged and new bays constructed, bypasses were made in the Bitter Lakes and at Al-Ballāḥ, stone or cement cladding and steel piling for bank protection were almost entirely completed in areas particularly liable to erosion , tanker anchorages were deepened in Lake Timsah, and new berths were dug at Port Said to facilitate the grouping of ships in convoy. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Plans that had been made in 1964 for further enlargement were overtaken by the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967, during which the canal was blocked. The canal remained inoperative until June 1975, when it was reopened and improvements were recommenced.

In 2015 the Egyptian government finished a nearly $8.5 billion project to upgrade the canal and significantly increase its capacity; nearly 18 miles (29 km) were added to its original length of 102 miles (164 km). The economy Africa at Random: Fact or Fiction? Operation In 1870, the canal’s first full year of operation, there were 486 transits, or fewer than 2 per day. In 1966 there were 21,250, an average of 58 per day, with net tonnage increasing from some 437,000 long tons (444,000 metric tons) in 1870 to about 274,000,000 long tons (278,400,000 metric tons). By the mid-1980s the number of daily transits had fallen to an average of 50, but net annual tonnage was about 350,000,000 long tons (355,600,000 metric tons).

In 2014 there were 17,148 transits with a net annual tonnage of about 947,800,000 long tons (963,000,000 metric tons). The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, crossing the Suez … Purestock/age fotostock The original canal did not permit two-way traffic, and ships would stop in a passing bay to allow the passage of ships in the other direction. Transit time then averaged 40 hours, but by 1939 it had been reduced to 13 hours. A system of convoys was adopted in 1947, consisting of one northbound and two southbound per day. Transit time went up to 15 hours in 1967 despite convoying, reflecting the great growth in tanker traffic at that time. With some enlargement of the canal, transit time since 1975 has ranged from 11 to 16 hours.

Upon entering the canal at Port Said or Suez, ships are assessed for tonnage and cargo (passengers have ridden without charge since 1950) and are handled by one or two pilots for actual canal transit, which is increasingly controlled by radar . Southbound convoys moor at Port Said, Al-Ballāḥ, Lake Timsah, and Al-Kabrīt, where there are bypasses that allow northbound convoys to proceed without stopping. In August 2015 a new 22-mile (35-km) expansion running parallel to the main channel was opened, enabling two-way transit through the canal. The main channel was deepened to allow for the passage of larger ships. The expansion project, launched by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2014, was part of an effort to boost Egypt’s economy. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest The nature of traffic has greatly altered, especially because of the enormous growth in shipments of crude oil and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf since 1950.

In 1913 the oil in northbound traffic amounted to 291,000 long tons (295,700 metric tons), whereas in 1966 it amounted to 166,000,000 long tons (168,700,000 metric tons). The closure of the canal from 1967 to 1975 led to the use of large oil tankers on the route around the Cape of Good Hope and prompted the development of the Sumed pipeline from Suez to Alexandria , which opened in 1977. Since 1975 the increased size of tankers—the largest of which cannot use the canal—and the development of sources of crude oil in areas outside of the canal route (e.g., Algeria , Libya , Nigeria , the North Sea , and Mexico ) have reduced the canal’s importance in the international oil trade. From an all-time peak of 984,000 in 1945, passenger traffic has declined to negligible numbers because of the competition from aircraft . Further decline in canal traffic resulted from a shift of Australasian trade from Europe to Japan and East Asia.

Some movement of oil, however, from refineries in Russia , southern Europe, and Algeria has continued, chiefly to India, and the shipment of dry cargoes, including grain , ores , and metals , has increased. A more recent feature has been the growth of container and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) traffic through the canal, chiefly destined for the highly congested ports of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Cargo ship in the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. Hubertus Kauns/SuperStock Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies The major northbound cargoes consist of crude petroleum and petroleum products, coal , ores and metals, and fabricated metals, as well as wood, oilseeds and oilseed cake, and cereals. Southbound traffic consists of cement, fertilizers, fabricated metals, cereals, and empty oil tankers. Communications and towns Construction of the canal led to the growth of settlements in what had been, except for Suez, almost uninhabited arid territory.

More than 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) were brought under cultivation, and about 8 percent of the total population was engaged in agriculture, with approximately 10,000 commercial and industrial activities of various sizes. During the Suez Crisis in 1967, almost all the population was evacuated, and most of the settlements were severely damaged or destroyed during subsequent warfare. With the reopening of the canal in 1975, however, reconstruction of the area was begun, and most of the population had returned by 1978. Port Said was made a customs-free zone in 1975, and tax-free industrial zones have been established along the canal. The major urban centres are Port Said, with its east-bank counterpart, Būr Fuʾād; Ismailia (Al-Ismāʿīliyyah), on the north shore of Lake Timsah; and Suez, with its west-bank outport, Būr Tawfīq. Water for irrigation and for domestic and industrial use is supplied by the Nile via the Al-Ismāʿīliyyah Canal.

Suez Canal Authority building, Port Said, Egypt. Daniel Csörföly There are two roads from the pre-1967 period on the west bank. Ferries have largely been replaced by four underpasses: north of Suez, south and north of Lake Timsah, and at Al-Qanṭarah. From this last, a road continues along the east bank to Būr Fuʾād, and another runs eastward through the Sinai to Israel . Newer roads on the east bank run eastward to the Khutmiyyah, Giddi, and Mitla passes, which give access to the central Sinai. The railway on the west side of the canal was restored in the 1970s. In 1980 the Ahmad Hamdi road tunnel was opened, connecting Egypt proper with its governorate (muḥāfaẓah) of Shamāl Sīnāʾ . About 1 mile (1.6 km) of the tunnel passes beneath the canal itself. As part of the 2014 expansion proejct, the Egyptian government announced plans to build six new tunnels for both motor vehicles and trains.

The project also includes the development of additional transportation infrastructure in the surrounding area and aims to reclaim some 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) of land for cultivation. History Eyjafjallajökull volcano Construction The first canal in the region is thought to have been dug about 1850 bce, when an irrigation channel navigable at flood period was constructed into the Wadi Tumelat (Al-Ṭumaylāt), a dry river valley east of the Nile delta. Known as the Canal of the Pharaohs, that channel was extended by the Ptolemies via the Bitter Lakes as far as the Red Sea. From the region of Lake Timsah a northward arm appears to have reached a former branch of the Nile. Extended under the Romans (who called it Trajan’s Canal), neglected by the Byzantines , and reopened by the early Arabs, that canal was deliberately filled in by the ʿAbbāsid caliphs for military reasons in 775 ce. Throughout, the reason for those changes appears to have been to facilitate trade from the delta lands to the Red Sea rather than to provide a passage to the Mediterranean.

Venetians in the 15th century and the French in the 17th and 18th centuries speculated upon the possibility of making a canal through the isthmus. A canal there would make it possible for ships of their nations to sail directly from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and so dispute the monopoly of the East Indian trade that had been won first by the Portuguese, then by the Dutch, and finally by the English, all of whom used the route around the Cape of Good Hope . Those schemes came to nothing. It was not until the French occupation of Egypt (1798–1801) that the first survey was made across the isthmus. Napoleon personally investigated the remains of the ancient canal. J.M. Le Père, his chief lines-of-communication engineer, erroneously calculated that the level of the Red Sea was 33 feet (10 metres) above that of the Mediterranean and, therefore, that locks would be needed. Considering the adverse conditions under which the French surveyors worked and the prevailing belief in the disparity of levels of the two seas, the error was excusable, and Le Père’s conclusion was uncritically accepted by a succession of subsequent authors of canal projects.

Studies for a canal were made again in 1834 and in 1846. In 1854 Ferdinand de Lesseps received an Act of Concession from the viceroy (khedive) of Egypt, Saʿīd Pasha , to construct a canal, and in 1856 a second act conferred on the Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez) the right to operate a maritime canal for 99 years after completion of the work. Construction began in 1859 and took 10 years instead of the 6 that had been envisaged; climatic difficulties, a cholera epidemic in 1865, and early labour troubles all slowed down operations. An initial project was the cutting of a small canal (the Al-Ismāʾīliyyah) from the delta along the Wadi Tumelat, with a southern branch (now called the Al-Suways al-Ḥulwah Canal; the two canals combined were formerly called the Sweet Water Canal) to Suez and a northern one ( Al-ʿAbbāsiyyah Canal) to Port Said .

This supplied drinking water in an otherwise arid area and was completed in 1863. At first, digging was done by hand with picks and baskets, peasants being drafted as forced labour. Later, dredgers and steam shovels operated by European labourers took over, and, as dredging proved cheaper than dry excavation, the terrain was artificially flooded and dredged wherever possible. Other than in the few areas where rock strata were met, the entire canal was driven through sand or alluvium. In August 1869 the waterway was completed, and it was officially opened with an elaborate ceremony on November 17. Finance The Suez Canal Company had been incorporated as an Egyptian joint-stock company with its head office in Paris. Despite much early official coolness, even hostility, on the part of Great Britain , Lesseps was anxious for international participation and offered shares widely. Only the French responded, however, buying 52 percent of the shares; of the remainder, 44 percent was taken up by Saʾīd Pasha. The first board of directors included representatives of 14 countries.

In 1875, financial troubles compelled the new viceroy, Ismāʾīl Pasha , to sell his holding, which (at the instigation of the prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli ) was at once bought by the British government. Until that year the shares had remained below their issue price of 500 francs each. With the British purchase (at 568 francs each), steady appreciation took place, to more than 3,600 francs in 1900. Originally allocated 15 percent of the net profits, Egypt later relinquished the percentage and, after the sale of Ismāʿīl’s 176,602 shares, remained unrepresented on the board of directors until 1949, when it was, in effect, reinstated as a board member and allotted 7 percent of gross profits. In that year it was also agreed that 90 percent of new clerical jobs and 80 percent of technical appointments would be offered to Egyptians and that the Canal Company would provide hospitals, schools, and other amenities.

In 1956, 13 years before the concession was due to expire, the canal was nationalized by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , precipitating the Suez Crisis . Since then the Egyptian government has exercised complete control through its Suez Canal Authority (SCA), though the original company (now GDF Suez) continues in France as a multinational utilities company. International status Although the canal was built to serve, and profit from, international trade , its international status remained undefined for many years. In 1888 the major maritime powers at the time (except Great Britain) signed the Convention of Constantinople , which declared that the canal should be open to ships of all nations in times of both peace and war. In addition, the convention forbade acts of hostility in the waters of the canal and the construction of fortifications on its banks. Great Britain did not sign the convention until 1904.

The history of international use of the canal during wartime includes denial of passage to Spanish warships during the Spanish-American War of 1898 and permission of passage for a squadron of the Russian navy during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and for Italian vessels during Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935–36. Theoretically, the canal was open to all belligerents during World Wars I and II , but the naval and military superiority of the Allied forces denied effective use of the canal to the shipping of Germany and its allies. Following the armistice between Israel and its Arab opponents in 1949, Egypt denied use of the canal to Israel and to all ships trading with Israel. The first of two canal closings occurred during the Suez Crisis of 1956–57, after Israel attacked Egyptian forces, and French and British troops occupied part of the canal zone. Several ships were trapped within the canal during that blockade and were unable to leave until the north end was reopened in January 1957.

The second closing was a consequence of the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967, during and after which the canal was the scene of much fighting between Egypt and Israel and for several years formed the front line between the two armies. Egypt physically barricaded both ends of the canal, and 15 ships, known as the “Yellow Fleet” for the desert sand they slowly accumulated, were trapped in the canal’s Great Bitter Lake for the entire duration of the war. The international crews of the anchored ships provided each other with mutual support and camaraderie , though by 1969 most of the crew members had been allowed to leave. With the reopening of the canal in June 1975 and the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979, all ships (including those of Israeli registration) again had access to the waterway, though only 2 of the 15 trapped vessels were able to leave under their own power. Suez Crisis, 1956.

Question: What canal connects the Red and Mediterranean Seas?
Answer: Suez Canal