Mediterranean Sea factors. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The Red Sea is higher than the Eastern Mediterranean, so the canal serves as a tidal strait that pours Red Sea water into the Mediterranean. The Bitter Lakes, which are hyper-saline natural lakes that form part of the canal, blocked the migration of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean for many decades, but as the salinity of the lakes gradually equalised with that of the Red Sea, the barrier to migration was removed, and plants and animals from the Red
Mediterranean–Dead Sea Canal descent to the Dead Sea from where it will drop almost 400 m through a pressure shaft to drive three Francis turbines with an output of 100 MWe each. The sketch of the projected system illustrates the continuous supply of water from the Mediterranean sea (west to east) by a 7 km long free-surface flow channel, a 65 km long pressure tunnel and a 3 km long storage pool. This underground power station design is the world's first planned high-pressure seawater power station. The approx. 8 m diameter pressure tunnel is designed for a maximum flow rate of 2.5 m/s