MAJOR CHOKE POINTS IN THE WORLD By Eleanor Joyce City of Salem Schools Salem, VA

In this lesson, you will locate and label the major global “choke points” on a map of the world and discuss the reason each choke point is critical to the economic and political stability of the world.   You will determine which natural resource would be most impacted by the blocking of each choke point. You will write a one-page paper describing how your life would be impacted if one of these choke-points were blocked.

A global choke point is a strategic strait or canal, which could be closed or blocked to stop sea traffic through it.   When might a strategic strait or canal be blocked? What might be the result of blocking a strategic strait or canal?

See whether you can identify the locations of the choke points on the world map shown on the next slide.

Click here to continue after viewing the maps. On your desk map, locate the following choke points and label them with your marker. (Click on the name of each choke point to view a map.) Panama Canal Strait of Gibraltar Bosporus and Dardanelles Strait of Hormuz Bab el Mandeb Suez Canal Click here to continue after viewing the maps.

From what you already know about the natural resources in the world and about current events, what potential problems can you foresee if any of these choke points in Asia and Africa were to be blocked?

Did you know the answer? The blocking of the free flow of oil and natural gas that are exported from the Middle East.

This map shows the movement of oil around the world.

Each waterway has a major influence on the economic and political stability of the world. Using your prior knowledge and your newly acquired knowledge, complete the following assignment.   Write a one-page paper describing how the blocking of any one of these waterways could affect your daily life. Make sure you refer to the geographic location of the waterway and the resources would be affected.

Strait of Gibraltar BACK Map found at http://www.geography.about.com

Panama Canal BACK Map found at http://www.geography.about.com

Bosporus and Dardanelles BACK Map found at http://www.geography.about.com

Suez Canal BACK Map found at http://www.geography.about.com

Bab el Mandeb BACK Map found at http://www.geography.about.com

Strait of Hormuz                                 Map found at http://www.geography.about.com BACK