The Panama Canal is a 48-mile-long conduit between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, permitting international maritime trade, making Atlantic-to-Pacific shipping much easier, often cutting travel distances in half. The canal began as a French project in 1880 but it was abandoned after a few hard years. The United States launched a second effort in 1904 and constructed the canal over the next decade, completing it in 1914, two years ahead of schedule. It is one of the seven modern wonders of the world, in the company of the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Since January 1, 2000, the Panamanian government has enjoyed complete control of the Panama Canal, and both the Panama Canal Authority and the Panamanian people are looking towards the future. The Panama Canal expansion project, slated for completion in 2014, will widen the canal from two lanes to three, allowing the massive vessels of today’s commercial shipping industry to pass through the canal for the first time in history.
View this slideshow to see more of this canal’s rich past come alive, from the days of its construction to the present, and learn about how this wonder of engineering really works.
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1 - Map of the Panama Canal, courtesy Wikimedia commons
This diagram shows how the curvature of the isthmus actually sets the canal's Pacific entrance to the southeast, and the Atlantic entrance to the northwest. Note the 3 lock systems that make up the Panama Canal. In the lower right corner you can see the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks; the third system, the Gatun locks, lies to the upper right. The Culebra Cut, located southeast of Gatun Lake, bisects the continental divide.
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2 - Map of the Panama Canal by William R. Shepard, courtesy University of Texas
This map of the canal was created by William R. Shepard, a U.S. cartographer specializing in American and Latin American history. The diagram in the lower half shows how a ship coming from the Pacific rises approximately 50 feet via the Miraflores locks, then another 30 feet via the Pedro Miguel locks, to traverse the canal at 85 feet above sea level. Then, the Gatun locks at the other end of the canal lower the ship back down to sea level on the Caribbean side.
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3 - Culebra Cut construction, 1907
A 1907 photo of construction on the Culebra Cut, also known as the Gaillard Cut. The Culebra Cut is a 45-foot-deep channel leading ships into a 15-mile stretch across Gatun Lake.
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4 - Construction of locks, 1913
This photograph from 1913 depicts some of the final stages of construction on the locks. The Pacific-side locks were completed before the Gatun locks: Pedro Miguel's single flight was finished in 1911, and the two-level system at Miraflores in May 1913.
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5 - Miraflores locks
Look at the people ascending the ladder for a sense of scale at the Miraflores locks. The Miraflores and the other two lock systems of the Panama Canal feature 2 lanes, intended to allow ships to pass in both directions simultaneously. In reality, large ships are allowed to take up the entire 2 lanes to pass while other ships wait, in order to ensure safe passage of all vessels through the canal.
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6 - Storage facility for equipment to operate Miraflores locks
The same ladder seen in the previous photo is visible below the building shown, a storage facility for equipment used to operate the Miraflores locks. Interesting fact: approximately 40 ships cross the Panama Canal every day, and between 12 and 15 thousand ships make this eight-to-ten-hour transit every year.
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7 - Panama Canal Museum entrance and viewing station
Here you see the entrance of the Panama Canal Museum located in Miraflores. The museum was created by the Panama Canal Authority to educate the public about the canal. You can find unique vantage points at their three observation terraces, or dine in their restaurant to enjoy a panoramic view of the canal.
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8 - Container ship passing through Miraflores locks, 2011
A container ship passing through Miraflores locks, 2011. This large ship approaches the "Panamax," a popular term that denotes the largest vessel able to pass through the Panama Canal. This Panamax has been in effect since the canal's completion in 1914. In 2014, almost exactly 100 years after the canal first opened, the Panamax limits on cargo capacity will increase from 5,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU) to 13,000 TEU, thanks to the canal expansion project.
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9 - Close-up depicting container ship being tugged through
This close-up of the container ship from the previous slide shows how rail vehicles, called mulas (mules), help to brake and maneuver the ships through the locks. Large ships like this one are assisted by a total of 8 mulas. With as little as 2 feet of space on either side of the ship, the operators of these rail vehicles must be highly skilled.
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10 - U.S.S. Lexington
A photo of the "Gray Lady," or U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2), a United States Navy aircraft carrier. The presence of TBD-1 Devastator torpedo-bombers parked aft on the flight deck indicates that this photo was likely taken in 1939, when the Panama Canal was serving as an important route for war supplies reaching the Pacific theater during WWII. The Panama Canal was originally designed with war applications in mind, although commercial shipping reigns during peacetime.
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11 - Tourist vessel taking canal visitors through the locks
This photo shows a tourist vessel taking visitors through the Miraflores locks. The Panama Canal's rich history - originally a French project, which the U.S. resumed and completed, then ultimately turned over to the Panamanian government in 1999 - makes it a fascinating site to visit. In 2006, Panamanian voters widely approved the $5.3 million dollar canal expansion project, which is expected to recover its costs in a little over a decade.
TAGS: History Must Read Panama Panama History & Culture Slideshows
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Awesome Pictures! I really want to make it to Panama soon and check out the canals.