Suez Canal
Suez Canal is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 30.64°, 32.33°
About Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; Egyptian Arabic: قناة السويس, Qanāt as-Suwais) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The 193.3-kilometre-long (120.1-mile) canal is a key trade route between Europe and Asia.
In 1858, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps formed the Compagnie de Suez for the express purpose of building the canal. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869 and it officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 km (5,500 mi), to 10 days at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) or 8 days at 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph). The canal extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. In 2021, more than 20,600 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 56 per day).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Suez Canal (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Suez Canal in Depth
History of the Suez Canal
Despite the construction challenges that could have been the result of the alleged difference in sea levels, the idea of finding a shorter route to the east remained alive. In 1830, General Francis Chesney submitted a report to the British government that stated that there was no difference in elevation and that the Suez Canal was feasible, but his report received no further attention. Lieutenant Waghorn established his "Overland Route", which transported post and passengers to India via Egypt. The usefulness of this route for the British Empire was shown when dealing with the Indian Rebellion of 1857, with 5,000 British troops having passed through Egypt.
Linant de Bellefonds, a French explorer of Egypt, became chief engineer of Egypt's Public Works.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Suez Canal (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Suez Canal: Key Facts
| Length | 193 km |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q899 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Suez Canal: Quick Answers
- Where is Suez Canal?
- Suez Canal is located in Egypt, at 30.6449° N, 32.3340° E.
- Are there dams on the Suez Canal?
- No dam on the Suez Canal is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.