The Suez Canal Region

The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway in Egypt. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Before the canal was built, ships had to sail all the way around Africa to get between Europe and Asia. The canal made that trip much shorter.

Building the Canal

The Suez Canal was built between 1859 and 1869. Thousands of workers dug through the desert sand to create the waterway. The canal is about 120 miles long. It was one of the biggest engineering projects of the 1800s.

The Canal Today

About 50 ships pass through the Suez Canal every day. It is one of the most important shipping routes in the world. The canal saves ships from sailing an extra 4,300 miles around Africa. Egypt earns billions of dollars each year from ships that use the canal.

Fun Facts

• The Suez Canal is about 120 miles long.
• About 12 percent of all world trade passes through the Suez Canal.
• The canal has no locks because the Mediterranean and Red Seas are at about the same level.

Did You Know?

When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it cut the trip from London to Mumbai by about 4,300 miles!