1. CHOKEPOINT - Narrow passages of land or water that are strategically important for trade
Example – St. Lawrence Seaway Z X Y
X = Fort Wellington
Y = Fort Erie
Z = Fort Mackinac

2. Why did the US build so many forts around the port of San Francisco?

3. Chokepoints
Give an example of something similar to a chokepoint in this school?
Stairways
Front Door
Door to the buses
Entrance to the auditorium

4. Chokepoints Sketch a picture of a chokepoint.
Explain why they are strategically important. (Why countries would fight over them.)
Answer the Question of the Day.

5. Chokepoints
It’s just the same when people try to transport goods around the world.
Sometimes countries are trading one good for another.
Sometimes countries are transporting soldiers or armaments to battle sites.
The control of these narrow passageways is critical. Whoever has the control is in power.

6. Corinth Canal (Greece)
There are approximately 200 straits ( narrow bodies of water connecting two larger bodies of water) around the world, but only a handful are known as chokepoints.
On your paper define “chokepoint.”

7. Chokepoints
A chokepoint is a strategic strait or canal which could be closed or blocked to stop sea traffic.
The Suez Canal and the Straits of Hormuz (pictured on the map) are examples of chokepoints.
Strait of Hormuz
Suez Canal
Make any adjustments to your definition that are needed.

8. CHOKEPOINTS OR BOTTLENECKS ?
With the rise of industrial Europe and seaborne trade, entrepreneurs thought of building a canal to connect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea directly, thus saving time either from sailing around Africa or transporting freight across the Suez Peninsula.

9. SUEZ CANAL
The Suez Canal was completed in 1869 under the leadership of a French company under de Lesseps. European capital (money) built it and operated it.
Why would European companies be willing to fund the building of the canal? How would it make them more competitive?
Write your answer on your paper.

10. SUEZ CANAL
Mediterranean Sea
The Suez Canal brought a new era of European influence in Pacific Asia by reducing the journey from Asia to Europe by about 65,000 km. The region became commercially accessible and colonial trade expanded.
Suez Canal
Red Sea

11. Chokepoints
The Suez Canal is only 101 miles long but was built across the Egyptian desert. It is one of the most significant maritime “shortcuts” ever built by man.
Construction of the Suez Canal

12. USS Wisconsin goes through the Canal.

13. IMPACT OF THE SUEZ CANAL
Shortened the route around Africa by 4,000 miles.

14. SUEZ CANAL Shortened the route around Africa by 4,000 miles.
Saved two weeks of shipping time.

15. SUEZ CANAL Shortened the route around Africa by 4,000 miles.
Saved two weeks of shipping time.
If you can shorten your shipping time, you can ship more items in the same amount of time that it used to take.

16. SUEZ CANAL Shortened the route around Africa by 4,000 miles.
Saved two weeks of shipping time.
If you can shorten your shipping time, you can ship more items in the same amount of time that it used to take.
Tonnage shipped jumped from 500,000 tons to 3,500,000 tons in ten years after the Suez Canal opened.

17. This allowed the Europeans to take a greater interest in the Asian markets than ever before.
British control of the canal was viewed as the “Lifeline of the Empire” because it allowed the British quicker access to the colonies in Asia and Africa.
On your paper, write down what you think is the most important impact of the Suez Canal. Justify your answer.

18. Strait of Gibraltar Has long been fought over
Has been held by the Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, and the Moslems
The British won the Battle of Trafalgar defeating Napoleon

19. D:\whs588.htm Click first on the D: to go to the animation.
After viewing the animation of the Battle of Trafalgar, click on the X to close the animation. That will return you to the PowerPoint.

21. OIL DEPENDENCY

22. OIL DEPENDENCY
For the past 50 years, one of the main sources of energy used by developed and developing nations has been oil.
For nations with little of this resource, disruption of the availability of oil or a large price increase, causes economic or political problems.
On your paper, write down two effects of closing a chokepoint.

24. SECURING THE SUPPLY: STRATEGIC POINTS OF CONCERN
For centuries, straits such as Gibraltar have been protected by international law.
In 1982, the Law of Sea Conventions further protected the international access for nations to sail through straits and canals.
On your paper, explain why straits would be protected by international laws.

25. Click on each of the tankers for information about the chokepoint.
After you have visited each of the chokepoints, click on this button.

26. Suez Canal
Click on button to return to map.
It is the only sea route between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
With the Middle East tension, the Suez Canal is a prime target for many nations. In 1967, the Arab-Israeli War shut down the canal for 8 years.
A third of the cargo is oil.

27. BAB el MANDEB
Click button to return to map.
Bottleneck for traffic between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean
3.2 million barrels of oil daily move through this chokepoint.
All the nations along the Red Sea are Islamic and the rulers of Sudan are backed by Iran.

28. STRAIT OF HORMUZ Closely monitored by the U.S. military and its allies
Critical point in the lifeline flow of oil from the Persian Gulf area. A quarter of the world’s oil supply passes through this strait million barrels of oil a day pass through.
Closely monitored by the U.S. military and its allies
Connects the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean

29. Strait of Hormuz http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/choke.html
Click on button to return to map.

30. THE BOSPORUS STRAIT Joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara
Russians and Turks have fought many battles over this strait. Turks are now citing environmental concerns as an excuse to restrict Russian access to the strait.

31.
Click on button to return to map

32. Strait of Malacca
Tankers pass through this strait bordered by Indonesia and Malaysia.
Located in the Indian Ocean, this strait is a shortcut for oil tankers traveling between the Middle East and the oil-dependent nations of the Pacific Rim (especially Japan.)
More than 50,000 ships pass through this strait yearly.
Click button to return to map

33. Panama Canal
Connects the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
0.5 million barrels of oil go through it daily
Needs to be widened
Click on button to return to map.

34. Barrels of Oil Transported through Chokepoints Daily

35. Let’s recap what we know about chokepoints.
A chokepoint is a strategic strait or canal which could be closed or blocked to stop sea traffic.
The Suez Canal and the Straits of Hormuz (pictured on the map) are examples of chokepoints.
Strait of Hormuz
Suez Canal

36. Now, review what else you know.
If a chokepoint is closed, it affects world trade patterns, the economy and politics.
That can lead to higher prices and/or war.
Keeping these straits or chokepoints open is very important.
The control of these narrow passageways is critical. Whoever has the control is in power.

37. ? Complete a flow chart showing these effects.
Closure of Strait of Hormuz
U.S. and Japan scramble for oil. ?

38. Which best fits in the last box of the flow chart?
A. Saudi Arabia pipes the oil to the
Red Sea.
B. The U.S. sends in troops and aircraft to
take over the Strait of Hormuz.
C. Diplomatic pressure makes Turkey
open the Strait.
D. The price of oil products goes down
worldwide.

39. Yes, the correct answer is B
Yes, the correct answer is B. The United States sends in troops to open the Strait of Hormuz.
A is incorrect. Saudi Arabia might be able to pump more oil to the Red Sea but the quantity would not be sufficient.
C is incorrect. Turkey controls the Bosporus Strait, not the Strait of Hormuz.
D is incorrect. The price of oil products would go up significantly around the world.

40. Congratulations, you have finished the tutorial on chokepoints.
Now see if you can answer two more questions on your worksheet.
Have your teacher check your answers.
You should ace this part of the TAKS now. You have the power.