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Caption:
At sea aboard USS Mt. Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) Dec. 9, 2002 -- For the
first time in her 31 years of naval service, Mt. Whitney transits the
Suez Canal on a mission-oriented voyage to the Horn of Africa. The use
of the canal decreases Mt. Whitney's travel time by thousands of
miles. The 100-mile, man-made waterway is 64 feet deep, 300 feet
wide at the bottom, and 740 feet wide at the surface. Suez Canal
was a 10-year project completed by the French in 1869 with an initial
purpose of creating a shorter, more expedient trade route between the
Mediterranean and the Red Seas. More than 50 ships use the
canal each day. U.S. Navy photo. (RELEASED)
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