The idea of creating a canal linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is a very old one that dates back about 4000 years to the ancient Egyptians. They thought of linking the two seas by using the River Nile and its branches. It was this very old desire that led to the digging of the present Suez Canal.
Lesseps
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/eutrophication&hypoxia (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Suez Canal ProjectEra_date_from: 1869
2003
The United States became interested in a water route through the Panamanian isthmus in the mid-1850s, but it was the French who first attempted to build the Panama Canal. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French began the project in 1876. Conditions were brutal: rampant yellow fever and malaria; massive landslides and flooding; sweltering heat; and construction equipment that was too light for the job.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Naval Surface Warriors (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Panama CanalEra_date_from: 1914
1984
Innovations
The United States became interested in a water route through the Panamanian isthmus in the mid-1850s, but it was the French who first attempted to build the Panama Canal. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French began the project in 1876. Conditions were brutal…
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The idea of creating a canal linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is a very old one that dates back about 4000 years to the ancient Egyptians. They thought of linking the two seas by using the River Nile and its branches. It was this very old desire that led to the digging of the present…
Read More