What are the lakes in the Suez Canal from north to south?

The Suez Canal is a 193-km artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, extending from Port Said to Port Tewfik near the Suez, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. The canal divides Africa and Asia and the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt.

The Suez Canal was proposed by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. The construction of the canal began in 1859 and officially opened on 17 November 1869. On 26 July 1956, the then Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company, which also stirred the 1956 Suez Canal crisis. 

The canal is one of the world's major global trade routes, handling approximately 12 per cent of world trade, including oil, natural gas, and consumer goods. The canal functions without locks. In 2015, a parallel channel was added to increase the capacity.

The canal reduces the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 kilometres. The canal serves as a pivotal chokepoint and shortest maritime route for energy, commodities, and trade from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. 

In this article, we will learn the correct order of the lakes in the Suez Canal region.

What are the lakes in the Suez Canal from north to south?

The lakes in the Suez Canal from north to south are Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, the Great Bitter Lake, and the Little Bitter Lake. 

Lake Manzala is a shallow, brackish lake, sometimes also called a lagoon. It is located in the northeastern Egypt on the Nile Delta near Port Said. The lake is 47 km long and 30 km wide.

Lake Timsah is a shallow, saltwater lake in Ismailia, Egypt, on the Nile Delta. Lake Timsah is also know as Crocodile Lake. The lake gets its name from the time when the lake was inhabited by Nile crocodiles although now they are not spotted as the lake is now a saltwater body.

Great Bitter Lake is a large saltwater lake in Egypt, part of the Suez Canal. Before the existence of the canal, the lake was a dry salt valley. The ships use this lake as a the 'passing lane'. The lake is filled with water from both the Red and Mediterranean Seas.

Little Bitter Lake is a saltwater lake, a part of the Suez Canal. It is located south of the Great Bitter Lake, connected through the canal system. The Little Bitter Lake is famous for the 'Yellow Fleet' when 14 ships were stranded there for eight years following the 1967 Six-Day war.

Also read: What were the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956?