THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR

THE PATH FROM EUROPE TO AFRICA'S NORTHERN SIDE HAS BECOME THE EASIEST THROUGH ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS STRAITS

THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR:

The Strait of Gibraltar  is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq (meaning "Tariq's mountain"^[) named after Tariq ibn Ziyad. The Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat, meaning "Gate of Charity".

 It is also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, or STROG (Strait Of Gibraltar), in naval use and as the "Pillars of Hercules"Europe and Africa are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km; 8.9 mi) of ocean at the strait's narrowest point. The Strait's depth ranges between 300 and 900 metres (160 and 490 fathoms; 980 and 3,000 ft) which possibly interacted with the lower mean sea level of the last major glaciation 20,000 years before present^[5] when the level of the sea was believed to be lower by 110–120 m (60–66 fathoms; 360–390 ft).^[6] Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes. The Spanish side of the Strait is protected under El Estrecho Natural Park.

Approximately 9 miles (14 km) wide at its narrowest point, the Strait of Gibraltar is the entry point into the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

It's bordered by the continents of Africa and Europe, and the countries of Morocco, Spain, the British colony of Gibraltar, and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.

LOCATION:

On the northern side of the Strait are Spain and Gibraltar (a British overseas territory in the Iberian Peninsula), while on the southern side are Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish exclave in North Africa). Its boundaries were known in antiquity as the Pillars of Hercules. There are several islets, such as the disputed Isla Perejil, that are claimed by both Morocco and Spain.

Due to its location, the Strait is commonly used for illegal immigration from Africa to Europe.

IMPORTANCE:

The Strait is an important shipping route from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. There are ferries that operate between Spain and Morocco across the strait, as well as between Spain and Ceuta and Gibraltar to Tangier.

THE KIEL CANAL

 OF THE FAMOUS CANALS IN THE WORLD ONE LOCATED IN THE GERMAN AREA OF EUROPE IS

 THE KIEL CANAL:

The Kiel Canal (German: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, NOK), known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a 98-kilometre (61 mi) long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

 

The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of 250 nautical miles (460 km) is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids potentially dangerous storm-prone seas. According to the canal's website, it is the most heavily used artificial seaway in the world; over 43,000 vessels passed through in 2007, excluding small craft.

Besides its two sea entrances, the Kiel Canal is linked, at Oldenbüttel, to the navigable River Eider by the short Gieselau Canal.

 HISTORY:

The first connection between the North and Baltic Seas was constructed while the area was ruled by Denmark-Norway. It was called the Eider Canal, which used stretches of the Eider River for the link between the two seas. 

The Eiderkanal was completed during the reign of Christian VII of Denmark in 1784 and was a 43-kilometre (27 mi) part of a 175-kilometre (109 mi) long waterway from Kiel to the Eider River's mouth at Tönning on the west coast.

 It was only 29 metres (95 ft) wide with a depth of three metres (ten feet), which limited the vessels that could use the canal to 300 tonnes displacement.

During the 19th century, after Schleswig-Holstein had come under the government of Prussia (from 1871 the German Empire) following the Second Schleswig War in 1864, a combination of naval interests — the German navy wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without the need to sail around Denmark — and commercial pressure encouraged the development of a new canal.

In June 1887, construction works started at Holtenau, near Kiel. The canal took over 9,000 workers eight years to build. On June 20, 1895, the canal was officially opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II for transiting from Brunsbüttel to Holtenau. The next day, a ceremony was held in Holtenau where Wilhelm II named it the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal (after Kaiser Wilhelm I), and laid the final stone. The opening of the canal was filmed by British director Birt Acres and surviving footage of this early film is preserved in the Science Museum in London.

In order to meet the increasing traffic and the demands of the Imperial German Navy, between 1907 and 1914 the canal width was increased. The widening of the canal allowed the passage of a Dreadnought-sized battleship. This meant that these battleships could travel from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea without having to go around Denmark. The enlargement projects were completed by the installation of two larger canal locks in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau.

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles internationalised the canal while leaving it under German administration. The government under Adolf Hitler repudiated its international status in 1936. After World War II the canal was reopened to all traffic.

 OPERATION:

There are detailed traffic rules for the canal. Each vessel in passage is classified in one of six traffic groups according to its dimensions. Larger ships are obliged to accept pilots and specialised canal helmsmen, in some cases even the assistance of a tugboat.

 Furthermore, there are regulations regarding the passing of oncoming ships. Larger ship may also be required to moor at the bollards provided at intervals along the canal to allow the passage of oncoming vessels. Special rules apply to pleasure craft.Maximum length for ships passing the Kiel Canal is 235.50 metres (772.6 ft); with the maximum width of 32.50 metres (106.6 ft) these ships can have a draught of up to 7.00 metres (22.97 ft). Ships up to a length of 160.00 metres (524.93 ft) may have a draught up to 9.50 metres (31.2 ft). The bulker Ever Leader is considered the cargo ship that came closest to the overall limits, yet.

THE PANAMA CANAL

IN EARLIER DAYS THEY SAY SAILORS WENT AROUND CAPE HORN THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE OF U.S.A FROM THE EASTERN AND WESTERN COASTS. BUT TODAY THE CROSSING FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC AND VICEVERSA IS BEING DONE THROUGH THE FAMOUS CANAL OF THE WATERS 

THE PANAMA CANAL.

The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an 82-kilometre (51 mi) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.


Work on the canal, which began in 1880, was completed in 1914, making it no longer necessary for ships to sail the lengthy Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America and to navigate the dangerous waters of the Strait of Magellan. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut made it possible for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in half the time previously required. The shorter, faster, safer route to the U.S. West Coast and to nations in and along the Pacific Ocean allowed those places to become more integrated with the world economy.


Ownership of the territory that is now the Panama Canal was first Colombian, then French and then American before coming under the control of the Panamanian government in 1999. The Panama Canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships when it opened in 1914, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, the latter measuring a total of 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons. By 2008, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal, many of them much larger than the original planners could have envisioned; the largest ships that can transit the canal today are called Panamax.The American Society of Civil Engineers has named the Panama Canal one of the SEVEN WONDERS OF MODERN WORLD..

HISTORY

The history of the Panama Canal goes back to 16th century. After realizing the riches of Peru, Ecuador, and Asia, and counting the time it took the gold to reach the ports of Spain, it was suggested c.1524 to Charles V, that by cutting out a piece of land somewhere in Panama, the trips would be made shorter and the risk of taking the treasures through the isthmus would justify such an enterprise. A survey of the isthmus was ordered and subsequently a working plan for a canal was drawn up in 1529. The wars in Europe and the thirsts for the control of kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea simply put the project on permanent hold.


In 1534 a Spanish official suggested a canal route close to that of the now present canal. Later, several other plans for a canal were suggested, but no action was taken. The Spanish government subsequently abandoned its interest in the canal.


In the early 19th century the books of the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt revived interest in the project, and in 1819 the Spanish government formally authorized the construction of a canal and the creation of a company to build it. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the rush of would-be miners stimulated Americas interest in digging the canal

In 1879, de Lesseps proposed a sea level canal through Panama. With the success he had with the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt just ten years earlier, de Lesseps was confident he would complete the water circle around the world.

Time and mileage would be dramatically reduced when travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean or vice versa. For example, it would save a total of 18,000 miles on a trip from New York to San Francisco.


Although de Lesseps was not an engineer, he was appointed chairman for the construction of the Panama Canal. Upon taking charge, he organized an International Congress to discuss several schemes for constructing a ship canal. De Lesseps opted for a sea-level canal based on the construction of the Suez Canal. He believed that if a sea-level canal worked when constructing the Suez Canal, it must work for the Panama Canal.

LAYOUT:

While the Pacific Ocean is west of the isthmus and the Atlantic to the east, the direction of the 8- to 10-hour canal passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic is from southeast to northwest. This is because of an anomaly in the shape of the isthmus at the point the canal occupies. The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas) at the Pacific side is about a third of a degree east of the Colón end on the Atlantic side.


The canal consists of artificial lakes, several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of locks. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American era as Madden Lake), acts as a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship passing from the Pacific end to the Atlantic is as follows:[33]
From the buoyed entrance channel in the Gulf of Panama (Pacific side), ships travel 13.2 km (8.2 mi) up the channel to the Miraflores locks, passing under the Bridge of the Americas.

The two-stage Miraflores lock system, including the approach wall, is 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long, with a total lift of 16.5 meters (54 ft) at mid-tide.


The artificial Miraflores Lake is the next stage, 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long, and 16.5 meters (54 ft) above sea level.


The single-stage Pedro Miguel lock, which is 1.4 km (0.87 mi) long, is the last part of the ascent with a lift of 9.5 meters (31 ft) up to the main level of the canal.


The Gaillard (Culebra) Cut slices 12.6 km (7.8 mi) through the continental divide at an altitude of 26 meters (85 ft), and passes under the Centennial Bridge.


The Chagres River (Río Chagres), a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Lake Gatún, runs west about 8.5 km (5.3 mi), merging into Lake Gatun.


Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels 24.2 km (15.0 mi) across the isthmus.


The Gatún locks, a three-stage flight of locks 1.9 km (1.2 mi) long, drop ships back down to sea level.


A 3.2 km (2.0 mi) channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side.
Limón Bay (Bahía Limón), a huge natural harbour, provides an anchorage for some ships awaiting passage, and runs 8.7 km (5.4 mi) to the outer breakwater.
Thus, the total length of the canal is 77.1 km (47.9 mi).

CONCLUSION:

What makes the Panama Canal remarkable is its self sufficiency. The dam at Gatun, is able to generate the electricity to run all the motors which operate the canal as well as the locomotives in charge of towing the ships through the canal. No force is required to adjust the water level between the locks except gravity. As the lock operates, the water simply flows into the locks from the lakes or flows out to the sea level channels. The canal also relies on the overabundant rainfall of the area to compensate for the loss of the 52 million gallons of fresh water consumed during each crossing.


Despite the limit in ship size, the canal is still one of the most highly travelled waterways in the world, handling over 12,000 ships per year. The 51-mile crossing takes about nine hours to complete, an immense time saving when compared with rounding the tip of South America.


Until the early 1970's the Panama Canal Company made considerable profits. After a period of 

nearly 60 years the loss in profit required the increase of tolls 3 times in 4 years. Much of the equipment, some of which dates back too 1914, now requires expensive modifications, simply to continue moving its present rate of traffic.

The original plan for the Panama Canal was evolved from many years of engineering study, but it was unfortunate that it had not been based on marine operating experience.

THE HIGHWAY OF INDIA

THE HIGHWAY OF INDIA IS NOT KNOWN BY ANYBODY AS PEOPLE CALL IT AS THE SUEZ CANAL.THE WORLD'S MOST RENOWNED SAILORS, ALWAYS HAD THOUGHT IN ANCIENT DAYS OF 18TH CENTURY " OH WHAT A WASTE OF TIME IT'S TOO MUCH TO GO AROUND AFRICA TO REACH EUROPE IT'S  CRUEL ON THE PART OF POSEIDON-THE LORD OF THE SEAS TO US". IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY CAME A BOON FROM GOD IN THE FORM OF THE FAMOUS CANAL WHICH WE CALL TODAY THE SUEZ CANAL.

LOCATION

The Suez Canal, mostly man made, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Gulf of Suez. It is also called by the famous name THE HIGHWAY OF INDIA.
Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows transportation by water between Europe and Asia without navigation around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is Port Tawfik at the city of Suez. Ismailia lies on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the half-way point.

The canal was constructed by the famous French engineer Sir Ferdinand De Lesseps. At that time the French owned it for few years later The British took control over it and was under them for a long period of time. People came to know the importance of this canal and started to acquire something out of it.

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 by war twice. The most recent closing occurred during the Six-Day War (in 1967), a brief war between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

History:

There seems to have always been an interest in linking the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Most of the early efforts were directed towards a link from the Nile to the Red Sea, thus indirectly linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through the Nile.  Strabo and Pliny record that the earliest effort was directed by Senusret III, but no evidence that there was an actual canal built exists.  The earliest efforts may have actually occurred at the command of Seti I or Ramesses II during the 13th century BC.

INAUGURATION

According to the Chronicle of the Pharaohs by Peter A. Clayton, under Necho II (610-595 BC) 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.  After having been neglected, it was rebuilt by the Persian ruler, Darius I (522-486 BC), who's 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. Amr Ibn el-As rebuilt the canal after the Islamic takeover of Egypt creating a new supply line from Cairo, but in 767 AD, the Abbasid caliph El-Mansur closed the canal a final time to cut off supplies to insurgents located in the Delta. Of course, over time, ships grew in size and so the ancient attempts to connect the two seas would not have worked anyway today.

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 Read 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.

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.

However, Pasha Said was very open to European influence, and in fact, was a childhood friend of Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, who ended up founding the La Campagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez (Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal) in 1858 to build the canal. This was a private company, which would build the canal under an agreement allowing it to operate the canal for 99 years, after which it would revert to Egyptian government ownership.

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 two hundred 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.

The total original cost of building the canal was about $100 million, about twice its original estimated coast. However, about three times that sum was spent on later repairs and improvements.

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.

The canal had a dramatic affect on world trade almost from the time it was opened, and even on world politics. Now, it was much easier for European nations to penetrate and colonize Africa.

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.

By June 1956 all British troops had departed, and Egypt took over the British installations. Nevertheless, various conflicts caused the closure of the canal for intermittent periods.

Unfortunately between the Suez Crisis and later wars, the canal was damaged extensively and was not operated for several year after 1967.  However, on June 5th, 1975, the canal was again opened, and since then has been updated and enlarged.

 Details

The canal stretches over 100 miles (163 kilometers) from Port Said and the Mediterranean Sea to Suez and the Red Sea and, along with other such projects, changed the face of maritime world trade.

The famous Canal (Translated from Arabic as Qana al-Suways) of the modern era is one of the greatest engineering feats of modern record.  At its narrowest point, it is about 300 meters wide (197 feet) at the bottom. It is wide enough to allow ships having a a maximum draft of 16 meters (53 feet). The canal can accommodate ships as large as 150,000 dead weight tons fully loaded.

The Canal is really not wide enough to allow two way passage of ships, but there are several passing bays, and areas where ships may pass each other in the Bitter Lakes and between Qantarah and Ismailia. There is also a railway that runs the entire distance of the canal.

The Suez Canal has no locks, because the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Suez have roughly the same water level. Actually, the canal does not stretch continuously from one sea to the other. It really consists of two parts each flowing into the bitter lakes which lies between Port Said and Suez, and it also uses the waters of Lake Manzilah and Lake Timsah.

Three convoys transit the canal on a typical day, two southbound and one northbound. The first southbound convoy enters the canal in the early morning hours and proceeds to the Great Bitter Lake, where the ships anchor out of the fairway and await the passage of the northbound convoy. The northbound convoy passes the second southbound convoy, which moors to the canal bank in a by-pass, in the vicinity of El Qantara. Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) reported that in 2003 17,224 ships passed through the canal. The canal averages about 8% of the world shipping traffic. The passage takes between 11 and 16 hours at a speed of around 8 knots. The low speed helps prevent erosion of the canal banks by ship's wakes.

Improvements are planned to allow supertanker passage though the canal by 2010. Presently, supertankers can offload part of their cargo onto a canal-owned boat and reload at the other end of the canal.