Current Affairs MCQs – Page 28 (Q271-280)

The Bering Strait separates the continents of Asia and North America, connecting the Pacific and Arctic Oceans between the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia and the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, United States. At its narrowest point, the strait is only about 82 kilometers wide, and during the last Ice Age a land bridge here is believed to have allowed early humans to migrate from Asia into the Americas. The Strait of Malacca is a tempting distractor since it is also a strategically important waterway, but it separates Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia rather than Asia from North America. The Bering Strait is named after Danish explorer Vitus Bering, who navigated the waters while serving the Russian Navy in the 18th century.

The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, cutting through Egypt and providing a critical shortcut for ships traveling between Europe and Asia without having to circumnavigate the entire African continent. It dramatically shortened global shipping routes when it opened, and remains one of the world's most heavily trafficked and strategically important waterways today. The Panama Canal is a tempting distractor since it serves a similarly important shortcut function, but it connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America rather than the Mediterranean and Red Seas. A 2021 blockage of the Suez Canal by the container ship Ever Given disrupted global trade for nearly a week.

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the narrow isthmus of Central America, cutting through the country of Panama and dramatically shortening shipping routes between the eastern and western coasts of the Americas. It uses a system of locks to raise and lower ships across the varying terrain of the isthmus, an engineering achievement that took over a decade to complete. The Suez Canal is a tempting distractor since it serves a similar shortcut function for global shipping, but it connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas in Egypt rather than the Atlantic and Pacific. The United States controlled the canal until it was fully transferred to Panamanian sovereignty in 1999.

The Suez Canal was opened for navigation in 1869, after roughly a decade of construction led by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas through Egyptian territory. Its opening dramatically reduced shipping times between Europe and Asia, eliminating the need to sail around the southern tip of Africa. 1859 is a tempting distractor because that is when construction on the canal actually began, a full decade before it was completed and opened. The canal was nationalized by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1956, triggering the Suez Crisis, a major Cold War-era international conflict.

The Panama Canal was opened for navigation in 1914, after a construction effort that began under French control in the 1880s before being taken over and completed by the United States following Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903. Its completion was a landmark engineering achievement, requiring the excavation of massive amounts of earth and the construction of an intricate system of locks. 1904 is a tempting distractor because that is when the United States formally began its construction phase of the canal, a full decade before the canal actually opened to traffic. Control of the canal was transferred from the United States to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

The Andes stretch roughly 7,000 kilometres along the western edge of South America, running through seven countries including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, making it the longest continental mountain range above sea level on Earth. It formed through the subduction of the Nazca and Antarctic tectonic plates beneath the South American plate, a process that continues to cause volcanic activity and earthquakes today. The Himalayas are a tempting distractor since they contain the world's highest individual peaks, but the Andes are longer in total length. Aconcagua, in Argentina, is the range's highest peak and the tallest mountain outside Asia.

The Alps stretch across eight European countries, including France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany, forming the continent's most prominent mountain range and a major influence on its climate and rivers. The range formed over tens of millions of years through the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, a process that continues to push peaks like Mont Blanc higher today. The Rockies and Andes are tempting distractors as other major mountain systems, but both lie in the Americas rather than Europe. Mont Blanc, on the French-Italian border, is the highest peak in the Alps at 4,808 metres.

The Rocky Mountains stretch roughly 4,800 kilometres through western North America, running from British Columbia in Canada down through the western United States into New Mexico, forming a major continental divide. The range was formed by tectonic compression beginning around 80 million years ago and is known for peaks exceeding 4,000 metres, extensive national parks, and rich mineral deposits. The Andes and Alps are tempting distractors as other major mountain systems, but both lie on different continents from the Rockies. Denver, Colorado, nicknamed the Mile High City, sits near the Rockies' eastern edge at roughly 1,600 metres elevation.

The Ural Mountains run roughly north to south through western Russia and are traditionally regarded as the geographical dividing line between Europe and Asia, making Russia a transcontinental country. The range is relatively low and ancient, rich in mineral resources including iron ore, and has historically served as both a physical and cultural boundary. The Caucasus Mountains are a tempting distractor since they are sometimes cited as an alternative Europe-Asia boundary further south, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The city of Yekaterinburg sits near the Urals and is often described as the gateway between European and Asian Russia.

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow waterway separating Spain from Morocco that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, making it one of the world's most strategically important shipping passages. At its narrowest point it is only about 13 kilometres wide, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar sits on its northern shore, guarding the entrance for centuries. The Suez Canal is a tempting distractor since it is another famous artificial link between seas, though it connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea rather than the Atlantic. The Rock of Gibraltar has served as a fortified British naval base since 1704.