LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Suez Canal: Red Sea
built 622 days ago
Controlling access to the Suez Canal is the Strait of Bab el-Mandab, a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It has between 48 and 80 km of width, but navigation is limited to two 3 km wide channels for inbound and outbound traffic. The sizable amount of tanker traffic makes navigation difficult along the narrow channels. A closing of this strait would have serious consequences, forcing a detour around the Cape of Good Hope and in the process demanding additional tanker space.
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The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world. The 101-mile waterway connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The Suez Canal is often called the “crossroads to Europe, Africa, and Asia” because the route is used to transport goods to and from all three continents.
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One of the most important waterways in the world, the Suez Canal runs north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in northeastern Egypt. This image of the canal covers an area 36 kilometers (22 miles) wide and 60 kilometers (47 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. It shows the northern part of the canal, with the Mediterranean Sea just visible in the upper right corner. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea. The artificial canal provides an important shortcut for ships operating between both European and American ports and ports located in southern Asia, eastern Africa, and Oceania. With a length of about 195 kilometers (121 miles) and a minimum channel width of 60 meters (197 feet), the Suez Canal is able to accommodate ships as large as 150,000 tons fully loaded.
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In order to maintain security and look after British interests in the protectorate, and to defend the strategically critical Suez Canal, there were 70,000 British troops in Egypt by January 1915. Many were in units of the Indian Army. Commander-in-Chief was Major-General Sir John Maxwell, who had been appointed in August 1914; a veteran of many years service in Egypt and Sudan. British formations involved at this time included the East Lancashire Division TF (later redesignated 42nd Division), 10th Indian Division, 11th Indian Division, the Indian Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, the Bikanir Camel Corps, and Indian and Egyptian artillery. 30,000 of the troops were placed on the Suez defences. The 1st Australian and New Zealand Army Corps arrived in December 1914, for training en-route to a theatre of war.
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When the Suez Canal was opened in 1869 the waters of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, which had been separated by the Isthmus of Suez, came into direct contact. For plants and animals, elements of the Atlanto-Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific-Erythrean flora and fauna, an opportunity was ... created to penetrate into new regions. Like many other man-made environmental changes, Lessepsian Migration is imprinted on a general pattern of historical processes.
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The Suez Canal in Egypt was opened in 1869. The shipping canal is 171 km (106 miles) long and connects the Mediterranean at Port Said with the Red Sea. A substantial shareholding (172,602 shares) was purchased by the British government in 1875.
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