Suez Canal

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Cargo ships travel along the wide Suez Canal in Egypt, bordered by sandy desert on one side and greenery on the other.

Vertical map of the Suez Canal in Egypt, showing its route from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in the north to Suez on the Gulf of Suez in the south. The map highlights the existing canal, the new canal channel as of August 2015, major lakes such as Lake Timsah and the Great Bitter Lake, and nearby cities and infrastructure including railroads and drainage canals, with the Sinai Peninsula to the east. An inset locates the canal within Egypt.

High angle view of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier sailing through the narrow Suez Canal, surrounded by desert landscape on both sides.

Suez Canal Authority

A collage featuring four colonial-era European figures in military and formal attire, a yellow map of Africa, and a vintage cartoon of imperialism in the background.

World map comparing two shipping routes from Dalian, China, to Rotterdam, Netherlands: the Suez Canal route, shown in blue, passing through the Strait of Malacca, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea, covering about 11,000 nautical miles and taking 48 days; and the alternate route, shown in red, traveling around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, covering about 14,500 nautical miles and taking 57 days.

United Nations soldiers in helmets march in formation along a street in Port Said, carrying rifles and gear during the Suez Crisis, 1956.

The Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal

View of the Suez Canal waterfront between Port Said and Port Fuad, Egypt, with boats docked along the shore and mid-rise buildings lining the water.

At a Glance

Suez Canal

Suez Canal summary

Suez Canal: Media

canal, Egypt

Videos

A collage featuring four colonial-era European figures in military and formal attire, a yellow map of Africa, and a vintage cartoon of imperialism in the background.

What Was the Scramble for Africa?

African colonization changed history—and the map.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Cargo ships travel along the wide Suez Canal in Egypt, bordered by sandy desert on one side and greenery on the other.

Suez Canal

Ships in the Suez Canal in Egypt. One of the world's most important shipping lanes,...

© Oleksandr Kalinichenko/Shutterstock.com

Vertical map of the Suez Canal in Egypt, showing its route from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in the north to Suez on the Gulf of Suez in the south. The map highlights the existing canal, the new canal channel as of August 2015, major lakes such as Lake Timsah and the Great Bitter Lake, and nearby cities and infrastructure including railroads and drainage canals, with the Sinai Peninsula to the east. An inset locates the canal within Egypt.

Egypt: Suez Canal

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

High angle view of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier sailing through the narrow Suez Canal, surrounded by desert landscape on both sides.

aircraft carrier; Suez Canal

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, crossing...

Purestock/age fotostock

Suez Canal

Suez Canal

Cargo ship in the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt.

Hubertus Kauns/SuperStock

Suez Canal Authority

Suez Canal Authority

Located in Port Said, Egypt, the Suez Canal Authority, maintained by the Egyptian...

Daniel Csörföly

World map comparing two shipping routes from Dalian, China, to Rotterdam, Netherlands: the Suez Canal route, shown in blue, passing through the Strait of Malacca, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea, covering about 11,000 nautical miles and taking 48 days; and the alternate route, shown in red, traveling around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, covering about 14,500 nautical miles and taking 57 days.

Global shipping route through the Suez Canal

The ability for ships to pass through the Suez Canal reduces distance by thousands...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

United Nations soldiers in helmets march in formation along a street in Port Said, carrying rifles and gear during the Suez Crisis, 1956.

Suez Crisis

United Nations troops march into Port Said during the Suez Crisis in November 1956.

© Manchester Mirror/Daily Mirror—Mirrorpix/Getty Images

The Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal

The Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal

On March 23, 2021, the Ever Given, a 400-meter (1,312-foot) container ship,...

© DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d—Maxar/Getty Images

View of the Suez Canal waterfront between Port Said and Port Fuad, Egypt, with boats docked along the shore and mid-rise buildings lining the water.

Suez Canal

Suez Canal between Port Said and Port Fuad.

© Olga Shkoda/Dreamstime.com

Vertical map showing the Suez Canal in Egypt, running from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the city of Suez on the Gulf of Suez in the south. The map highlights the canal's navigation route, adjacent drainage canals, nearby lakes such as Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, and the Great and Little Bitter Lakes, as well as surrounding cities, railroads, and salt marshes. An inset locator map shows the canal's position within northeastern Africa and the Middle East.

Suez Canal

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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