World’s Most Important Waterways
if you order something online how does it get to you buy Road maybe it's flown in well you might not think it but a staggering 90 of all globally traded goods are carried by ships many of which rely on inter-country waterways to get from A to B these often giant or sometimes surprisingly tiny waterways are used to cut down travel times so that your Amazon package gets to you faster but that's not all they're built for from providing impossible looking passageways across countries to the narrow Straits giant ships are launched in let's take a look at some of the most important waterways and how they've changed the world around them oh Panama considered one of the most ambitious construction projects in history there's Waterway right here is a modern Marvel of engineering this is the 50 mile long Panama Canal it provides a route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans significantly reducing the distance and time required for ships to pass between the two how significantly well before its completion in 1914 ships had to go the long way around all the way down to South America's Cape Horn it took 10 long years of drilling through solid rock with more than three and a half billion cubic feet of dirt removed creating a trench 290 feet wide 10 stories deep and more than 130 football fields in length and this was all done with dynamite pickaxes and your great-granddy's co-powered steam shovels but by providing a link through Panama the journey between the two oceans was shortened by a whopping 9 1000 miles what would have been a two-month Voyage over the dangerous waves and violent Winds of the cape had been reduced to a 10-hour Canal Crossing who doesn't love a shortcut it does however come at a price depending on the size of the vessel it can cost between 500 to 800 000 to use that's a steep Dole for sure but the savings and distance time and fuel make this Canal's efficiency a worthwhile expense though you have to ask why is it so expensive part of it is because the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are actually different heights so the Panama Canal is fitted with a series of locks which are essentially tiny Chambers less than a thousand feet long and 110 feet wide each has a gate that allows water in or out to lift and lower boats to different water levels when the boat needs to be lifted an inlet gate is opened and water is led into the chamber raising the vessel when it needs to be lowered the outlet gate is open and water is please turn the chamber as you can imagine there's a lot of water that needs to be shifted and the locks need to be well maintained hence the Hefty price of Passage but it's thanks to this amazing feature that these massive ships can make a smooth transition from 1C to the next this doesn't stop larger vessels over a hundred feet wide from sometimes looking stuck though used primarily for U.S ships to travel to Asia this 10-year Mammoth construction project now sees 13 to 14 000 ships pass through it each year with an average 2.6 billion dollars made in traffic Revenue can I make some sort of canal based joke here or has that ship sailed Houston we have a channel back at the start of the 20th century Texas was home to the Buffalo Bayou a swampy marshy Waterway which stretched from the coast to the Heart of Texas but it was so badly overgrown only a few steamboats and shallow draft boats could navigate it then in 1909 the potential of having a waterway that could stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to Harris County Texas suddenly dawned on the locals they've spent five years clearing and dredging 50 miles of the Bayou until it was some 500 feet wide and 45 feet deep and today the aptly named Houston Ship Channel is one of America's most efficient waterways providing a link between Houston and the rest of the world in 2022 it set a record as 55 million tons of cargo pass through it that year alone it links together hundreds of Enterprises with its connected industrial complex alone valued at 3 billion dollars and Boeing some 55 000 people today it returns over 800 billion dollars in economic value taking up 20 percent of Texas's total GDP the impact this one channel has had on the mighty us of a can't be ignored especially considering that the Port of Houston was the first to introduce container shipping in the states and the channel pretty much opened up the American South the networks all around the world making the waterways one of the country's busiest it's so vital to Texas's ability to trade worldwide that if it had remained some swampy little Bayou it's likely Texas would never have experienced the growth and wealth it has done now it's set to undergo its 11th major expansion aiming to be completed in 2025 with a whopping 1 billion dollar investment the project intends to whiten the channel further to an enormous 700 feet whoa just what on Earth are they planning on shipping down there the entire Alamo between the immense Panama Canal and the incredible Houston Ship Channel which do you personally find more impressive Panama Canal is under iconic but the effort of all those locals put into the Houston is just as amazing I'm torn what do you think for Panama hit that like button and for Houston hit subscribe all done great what world changing Waterway do we have next a grand achievement okay pop quiz time what's the longest man-made canal in the entire world Bill no okay try this what's the oldest man-made canal in the world still no idea what if I told you the answer to both is the same no man what do they teach kids in school these days the answer is China's Grand Canal which is 1114 miles long and was only considered complete after a staggering 2 000 years those sections are being reconstructed and renovated to this day it's almost impossible to believe right well let me lock you sorry shock you even further prior to the Industrial Revolution the Grand Canal was considered the world's largest and most expansive engineering project it was conceived to unify Inland communication for the sweet Dynasty empire as well as descent troops materials and food to feed the population construction on this Beast began way back in 486 BCE and with sections built abandoned and rebuilt over the years it's believed more than 9 million people were involved in its construction including its 21 gateways and 60 Bridges this Waterway runs from Beijing all the way to Hangzhou and connects two of China's largest rivers the Yangtze and yellow with an estimated 100 000 vessels passing through each year it also transports 260 million tons of cargo annually continually boosting the country's economy at its peak use during the 15th and 16th centuries approximately 400 000 tons of green were transported along it each year and its earlier construction history straw Stone clay and Earth were all used to build elements of the Waterway but it became such an essential transport link that by 1958 work was underway to allow the canal to carry ships that weighed up to 600 tons each and now it can support medium-sized barge vessels along its entire length that's one grand history it certainly lives up to its name big Dutch energy now amazing Maritime architecture isn't all about trade routes and cargo it can also be used to make your morning commute easier just see for yourself instead of building a bridge over the water this unique design constructed in the Netherlands has created a bridge of water it can be found over the busy in 302 road which links the mainland to a large artificial island called flaveland across the bordering Lake villui back in the early 2000s Engineers wanted a way of connecting Lake villui to Lake Walder witch for all the maritime traffic which was separated by the road a typical drawbridge wouldn't do that because some 28 000 Vehicles use the road every day and waiting for a drawbridge to open and close would cause some serious tailbacks so they proposed an 82 foot long 62 foot wide and nine feet deep Aqueduct that would allow vessels to pass over the road like a bridge built specially for boats and it came out at a better price do compared to the 61 million dollar Aqueduct a drawbridge with many moving Parts can cause hundreds of millions of dollars so design confirmed the villawemir aqueduct was built back in 2002 using over 700 000 cubic feet of concrete and steel to hold the water weight above the roadway with this Mammoth stronghold it's able to prevent water spilling out the sides onto the highway no one wants their car swimming along the roads unfortunately large ships are unable to cross the aqueduct because they generally have an average draft that is how deep they sit in the water of 30 to 50 feet with the bridge only having a nine feet depth it's used by small to medium-sized vessels only shame seeing a gigantic cruise ship pass over your car would certainly make the morning commute a little more eventful when two become one the aptly named Volga Don Canal is a ship channel that links the Russian rivers of you guessed it Volga and Don it provides the only route through the Caspian Sea and the Sea of azov to the main oceans making it a very important shipping route so important that works initially started all the way back in the 16th century some 30 subsequent attempts were made to connect the rivers but all ended in Failure even Russians are Peter the Great tried and failed to connect the two Roots it wouldn't be until 1948 under Soviet rule that the canal and its facilities would be built and connected it required the Manpower of 900 000 people in total with the canal completed just four years later in 1952 sitting at 262 feet wide 26 feet deep and 62 miles long much like the Panama Canal the two connected rivers are at different heights so the canal possesses 13 locks from the highest point between the the two rivers four locks are required to reach the dawn over a series of reservoirs meaning the route to send some 144 feet however from that same point it takes nine logs to reach the Volga which requires more because it runs along a significantly steeper route to descends some 288 feet and while it was completed more than 50 years ago it still remains one of the most world-changing waterways to this day not only did it serve as a symbol of power for the Soviet Union it provided Russia with valuable links to the international market as a trade route to the Black Sea this has proved incredibly beneficial to the Region's economy and continues to do so not only does it provide the shortest navigable connection between the otherwise landlocked Caspian Sea in the world's oceans and its power stations generate enough electricity to make most of the mechanisms along the canal self-sufficient water way to make a statement Dutch dip Rotterdam is a Dutch City that's famous for its many many many canals a lot of these waterways called singles were built to prevent the spread of Cholera in the 19th century they did this by cleverly flushing all infected sewage and Waters out to sea however the wind shot or deep Waterway and groaning in is used to release something completely different into its Waters ships foreign located on the banks of the canal the ferris Smith Shipyard is one of the most famous in the world they have built and launched 470 ships and Counting with six to eight delivered every year one such trading giant the arclo Accord has been built to transport products like wheat and corn on European waterways and is a massive 390 feet in length these ships are seriously impressive but not as impressive as the way they're launched you see these ships can reach more than 400 feet long but are only around 50 feet wide this makes them perfect to travel the narrow Canal Straits now the wind shutter deep is 328 feet wide on average but these gigantic vessels are so narrow Ferris Smith can launch them in sections that are less than 100 feet wide however they still make a big impact and because this section of the canal runs right beside a public road when a giant ship is launched the splash often hits the other side of it [Music] so this fairly thin Canal may not look like much but it can certainly take the weight of Ferris Smith's vessels which is a feat in itself cash flow it doesn't look like it from just a glance but the Erie Canal might just be one of America's fastest money makers the Waterway which opened for business in 1821 links the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean making it some 351 miles long it became an instant success used by Merchant ships it was responsible for reducing the cost of Transportation by up to a staggering 95 percent that's ridiculous but how did it manage this well back before railroads and water transport were the primary ways bulb goods were shipped the Reliance was on animals like mules now mules can only carry about 250 pounds of goods on land but they can draw a barge in the water weighing up to 60 000 pounds some 30 tons along a tow path to carry goods from Buffalo to New York it cost about a hundred dollars a ton before the Erie was constructed after its completion the mule is now capable of hauling 2 240 times more cargo per trip bad cost Came Crashing Down to just ten dollars a ton that's a serious price drop and that's not this Canal's only remarkable Legacy the Erie is responsible for encouraging Canal construction Statewide after Turning New York into a major commercial center many Engineers working on the canal went on to construct many other valuable waterways and railroads in the U.S
thanks to their work on the Erie its usage kept strong into the 20th century becoming an indispensable shipping route that connected many cities nowadays tour ships are the main source of traffic turning the main stretch of the canal into a destination Hot Spot man this waterways had more Evolutions than a Pokemon it put New York on the map for one it burnt the whole network of American Canal routes from its popularity and it reduced a two-week Stagecoach journey to a five-day voyage by water and save Merchants a literal ton consider me eerily impressed so klong now when someone says the name clong you may think they're trying to imitate a grandfather clock but actually the clunks refer to a whole network of canals in Thailand which remarkably predate large roads it's believed they were first dug into the landscape over 600 years ago and built by local residents to allow Merchant ships to move through the country freely connected by three large rivers ciao Fria MEK long and ta Chen the 1682 clunks collectively span some 1 618 miles in length and form an impressive spider's web of shipping routes and Sewer routes in the capital of Bangkok alone to this day food textiles pottery and building materials are all transported to different towns via the canals even being sold by the water and floating markets sounds like something from a sci-fi film doesn't it these clogs ruled Thailand's Transportation scene before Europeans became increasingly frustrated at having to float everywhere with Rising Western influence Road started to overtake the canals and some were sadly buried and built over today they function more as a tourist route which has saved the clones from falling into disuse entirely in fact roads only take up eight percent of the area of Bangkok proving that these waterways are still an essential transport system heck they're probably quicker than driving too people have historically lived beside these canals which is one of the scariest things I could think of who wouldn't be terrified of flooding but strong embankment still sand barges keep all these homes afloat Thai architecture continues to build new flood resistant houses that are anchored to the shores fitted with steel pontoons and filled with styrofoam they can lift the structure nine feet from the ground when water infiltrates whoa now that's working smarter not harder the mile high canal okay whatever you do on this next Waterway don't look down this awe-inspiring structure is the hang on let me get this right Ponca salty Aqueduct yeah that'll do if there are any Welsh people watching please rate my Welsh down below the 18 Arc Stone structure was built back in 1805 in Wales and at an amazing 126 feet tall it still stands as the highest aqueduct in the entire world today for the early 19th century this kind of engineering was completely unheard of it was part of a very risky career move from architect Thomas talvert who designed this Aqueduct for narrow boats carrying coal part of the langolin canal it made Journeys between the steep valley separating Northeast Wales and England much easier at the time of its completion the structure was three times the size of existing aqueducts making telford's project a groundbreaking achievement today if you're brave enough it even Sports a foot back the bad thankfully has iron railings on one side but on the other side nothing it's completely open to the air and uh gravity even so many boats and even paddle boarders across the aqueduct every day with only one set of railings to prevent you going over and with the channel being only 12 feet wide it looks more like a dangerous watery tightrope back than a typical Aqueduct Voyage would you be bold enough to cross this Waterway oh let me know down in the comments below It's All Greek To Me now this next Grecian Canal boasts a pretty unique world record it's the deepest waterway in the entire world at a scary 259 feet deep but for all its depth this Waterway called the Corinth Canal is only 81 feet wide painting ships sometimes struggle to squeeze through its slam passageway with vessels wider than 58 feet unable to cross it all together its Jagged walls have also been known to cause landslides blocking the canal itself when ships can successfully pass through the Waterway connects the Corinthian Gulf of the ionian sea to the saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea this once prevented ships from having to navigate 400 miles around the dangerous peloponnese Peninsula the underwater rocks and ragged Coastline of which can cause some serious damage this was a problem that ships faced a long time ago as far back as the 7th Century BCE periander the ruler of Corinth at the time knew the treacherous Peninsula Journey could be avoided it by linking the two C's but the technology needed to carve out such a Waterway through more than 250 feet of sheer Rock was just not Advanced enough many tried throughout history including the Roman Emperor's Nero and Julius Caesar but none could hack it literally attempts to recommenced in 1881 but it was so costly to cut through the rocket literally bankrupted its wannabe Builders it was finally completed in 1893 after countless failed attempts and more than 30 million francs some 175 million dollars today of course and at long last periander's Vision was complete this canal might have been easy for 19th century ships to pass through but certainly not the larger models today which can reach more than 225 feet across almost three times the width of the Corinth despite this it's still in use and sees 15 000 ships sail through it per year wow this canal has a rich history that lies deep beneath those beautiful blue Waters really really deep suezable do you remember back in 2021 when headlines were dominated by a global Panic no not about covid-19 but about a ship that had gotten stuck in the Suez Canal the ship which was called the ever given owned by the Evergreen company had drifted and run aground in the canal holding up ships in both directions one shipblocking one can now might not seem like such a big deal but based on the value of the goods passing through the Suez each day for the 151 hours it was stuck there it's estimated to have caused a bank-breaking 60.4 billion dollars in trade yeah that's billion with a B this catastrophic event made it clear just how vital the Suez Canal is to our global trade systems you see this Waterway connects the Gulf of Suez in Egypt with the Mediterranean Sea and makes it possible for Europe to easily access these regions because of the water levels on both sides are roughly equal the sea moves freely down this route no locks are required so at 120 miles long and just over 670 feet wide the Suez Cuts travel between Asia and Europe by a staggering 4 300 miles it particularly impacts those traveling from the Persian Gulf to Northern Europe because that trip around Africa is some 13 000 miles and takes about 24 days but using the Suez Canal the trip is just 7 000 miles and takes less than two weeks all that time gone like magic but it wasn't Wizardry that built the Suez Canal it was one and a half million people when work started on this Mega project back in 1859 these workers were responsible for moving an estimated 2613 million cubic feet of Earth 600 million on land and 2013 million through dredging to make this canal a reality and even then it took a decade to build and finally opened in 1869. before then any connection between between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean was considered impossible so land routes were used to trade goods across countries horse-drawn vehicles and trains had to be used between Britain and Africa resulting in Journeys that could take at least six months this canal has continually been expanded Through The Years allowing increasingly bigger cargo ships to use its waterways making it more and more valuable to the global shipping industry it was enlarged in 2014 with a side Channel open to one section in 2016. and
modern technology has made it possible to expand it even further with future plans promising to add more than 44 miles of new channels and bypasses this project hopes to increase the volume of passing ships from 49 to 97 a day more than doubling its current annual revenue from 5.3 billion dollars to 13.2 billion dollars wow Suez is really making bank and I ain't talking about Riverbanks a big diversion over in China One of the most ambitious Maritime projects in history is currently under construction one destined to quench the country's massive thirst at present roughly a third of China's 1.3 billion strong population live in the North an area much drier than the South but instead of moving an entire population further south for water the South the North diversion project will bring water to the north the project involves building three main canals two of them more than 800 miles long each these will divert water from three of the country's major rivers the Yangtze River the Yellow River and the Han River and not just a small amount of water but some 12 trillion gallons every year that's more water than there is in the entire Hoover Dam Reservoir this is a massive undertaking and with more than 79 billion dollars poured into the project since it was launched in 2002 it's one of the most ambitious engineering projects to date and part of that comes down to the inclusion of structures like the Shahi Aqueduct which which is the world's largest aqueduct ever built within the Shahi four water channels run parallel to one another seven and a half miles long 26 feet wide and 24 feet high each of them transporting separate water streams made from reinforced concrete each prefabricated Flume that is to say each segment constructed in a factory transported and installed on site weighs up to 1200 tons so this was no small task to construct and while the Shahi is now in full use the full South the North diversion project has an estimated completion date of 2050. still China will hopefully be securing the water access and Welfare of many future generations to come so I guess if you can't go with the flow yeah make the flow go with you which of these amazing waterways did you think was the most incredible and have you ever seen any of them with your own eyes let me know down in the comments below and thanks for watching [Music]
2023-07-05 23:06
