Suez Canal connects which of the following?

Question

Suez Canal connects which of the following?

1. Atlantic Ocean

2. Red Sea

3. Mediterranean Sea

4. Indian Ocean

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 1 and 3
2. B. 3 and 4
3. C. 2 and 3 (Correct answer)
4. D. 1 and 2

Correct Answer

Option C — 2 and 3

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 2 and 3.

Key Points

• The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea (3) in the north with the Red Sea (2) in the south, through the Gulf of Suez.
• Hence option (c).
• The Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean are not directly connected by it, though the canal shortens the route between them.

Additional Information

• The Suez Canal is about 193 km long, lies wholly in Egypt, and separates Africa from Asia. It is a sea-level canal with no locks, unlike the Panama Canal.
• It was opened in 1869, engineered by Ferdinand de Lesseps, and nationalised by Egypt's President Nasser in 1956, triggering the Suez Crisis.
• It cuts the voyage from Europe to Asia by thousands of kilometres by removing the need to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, and carries roughly 12% of global trade.
• Compare the Panama Canal (opened 1914), which joins the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and does use locks because of differing sea levels and the terrain of the isthmus.
• The Bab-el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf are the other chokepoints usually asked alongside Suez.