Page 130 - Rules of Navigation2020

 The East channel passes through Bitter Lake only
 The effects of Lakes can be summarized as follows:

(1) The Lakes along the Canal have an important role in dampening the effects of sudden
meteorological changes.

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(2) The Bitter Lakes with a surface of about 250 km reduce the tidal range of range to a
minimum between Km.100 and Km130.

(3) The mean tidal range in Bitter Lakes (at Kabret) may reach 0.30 m.
(4) The phase of the vertical tide in the Great Bitter Lake is about 3 hours later than that of

Port Tewfik
(5) The vertical tide in Timsah Lake is almost in phase with the tide in Great Bitter Lake
sometimes there is a difference of ±2 hours.

(6) The mean tidal range in Timsah Lake is about 0.35 meter
 The region between Km 50 and Km 100 has the same characteristics of current as the

northern sector.
C-The Southern sector of Suez Canal:

This part is located between Port of Suez and the Little Bitter Lake:
(1) Tide type of this sector is semi-diurnal which means that there are two high peaks and

two low peaks every day.
(2) The height of tide in Suez co-oscillates with the tides of the Red Sea with extreme tidal
range of about 2.25 meters at Spring tides. This tidal range decreases gradually going

North till the southern entrance of the Little Bitter Lake at Gineifa where the extreme
value becomes about 0.7 meter.

(3) The extreme tidal range at Shallufa is 1.25 m. The mean tidal range is about 1.10, 0.70
and 0.30 m at Port Tewfik, Shallufa and Gineifa respectively

(4) The tidal volume of the Bitter Lakes is very large compared to the tidal volume of the
Southern region of SC. Consequently, the currents are relatively strong almost uniform
between Port Tewfik and Gineifa.

(5) In this region, the Northward current is called Flood and the Southward current is
called Ebb.

(6) Peak currents (Flood / Ebb) occur after (high / low) water level with phase lag ranging
between 30 and 90 minutes at the same location.

(7) Generally in Summer, the duration of Ebb exceeds the average of 6 hours. In Winter,
the Flood is the predominant. The Ebb is prolonged by “strong Northerly Winds”. The
Flood is prolonged by "Strong Southerly Winds”.

(8) In this sector, the average peak current is about 2.5 knots, In Spring tides, current may
reach 4.0 knots.

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