World’s Five Important Canals: US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding the Panama Canal are in the headlines. But do you know about the five big and historical canals of the world? Although there are hundreds of canals all over the world, but these 5 canals are very special. Because of them, not only the economy of these countries is running, but the economy of countries all over the world is connected to these canals. To put it plainly, these are the canals through which money flows.
Grand Canal of China
Suez or Panama Canal may be in the headlines but the world’s largest canal is in China. This is the Grand Canal of China, which connects Beijing to Hangzhou. This 1776 kilometer long canal is included in the UNESCO world heritage. The reason for this is that it started being built in 330 BC and it connects five river valleys of China. This canal gave a new shape to China and its geography through its contribution to China’s trade, agriculture and cultural exchange. It is considered the most comprehensive civil engineering program in the world before the Industrial Revolution.
Suez Canal
Egypt’s Suez Canal comes in second place. This 193.30 kilometer long canal was completed in the year 1869. The Suez Canal passing through Egypt connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez. Before the construction of the Suez Canal, it was very long to travel by sea from Europe to Asia and ships used to pass through Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, but with the construction of this canal, Europe became directly connected to Asia. For this reason, this canal is one of the busiest routes of maritime trade in the world. This canal separates the mainland of Egypt from its Sinai Peninsula.
Panama Canal
At third place is the Panama Canal, which was built in the year 1914. Panama gave the task of building, operating and protecting this canal to America. Since 1999, this canal is again in the hands of Panama. This canal connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and 5% of the world’s maritime trade takes place through this canal.
America’s ear canal
America’s Eyrie Canal is also one of the special canals of the world. This canal, which connects America’s Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, is 584 kilometers long and goes from Albany to Buffalo. Built between 1817 and 1825, this canal played a big role in the socioeconomic transformation of America. The economic development of America’s Midwest depended on it. Through this, natural resources were transported to other states of America at low cost. This canal played a major role in the economic strength and industrialization of America’s financial capital New York.
The Karakum Canal
Another historical and large canal is the Karakum Canal of Turkmenistan. This canal was built when Turkmenistan was a part of the then Soviet Union. Construction started in the year 1954 and work on it was completed in 1988. The Soviet Union had built this canal to extract water from the Amu Darya river. Later it was extended to the Caspian Sea. This canal has made a major contribution in changing the economy of Turkmenistan.