Panama Canal

The Panama Canal bisects the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, roughly midway down the American continent. It prevents the need for long shipping journeys around South America.

The Panama Canal created a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Thousands of labourers worked from 1904 to 1914, cutting through jungles and swamps with steam shovels, fighting against yellow fever and malaria. The first ship through the canal, shown here, was the battleship USS Missouri in 1914.

The Panama Canal under construction in the early 1900s.

Canal across the Panama isthmus in Central America, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Built by the USA 1904-14, it is one of the world's most strategic waterways. The Panama Canal and the Panama Canal Zone, comprising land extending about 5 km/3 mi on either side of the canal, were controlled by the USA from 1903. Under the terms of the Panama Canal treaty of 1977, Panama took control of the zone in 1979 and complete control of the canal on 1 January 2000.

The Panama Canal is 80 km/50 mi in length, with 12 locks; average width 150 m/492 ft. It runs southeast from Cristóbal on the Atlantic to Balboa on the Pacific. The canal enables ships travelling between the east and west coasts of the USA that would otherwise have to go around Cape Horn in South America to shorten dramatically their voyages.

The original construction company, headed by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, began construction in 1879, but collapsed in 1889 because of financial scandals. It was designed to ensure free passage to international shipping in a turbulent area, but in the 1960s was the focus of US strategy in South America as a training ground for special forces devised by President Kennedy to fight irregular wars. Nationalist feeling in Panama led to anti-US riots in 1964, and pressure mounted against US control of the canal.

The route through the Canal from the Pacific entrance passes under the Puente de las Americas, past Balboa on the eastern bank to the Miraflores Locks, which raise the water level in preparation for entry to Lake Miraflores. The Pedro Miguel Locks raise the level again for entry to the Gaillard Cut (13 km/8 mi long), which leads to Lake Gatún, one of the largest artificial lakes of this type in the world. Vessels proceed through a channel in the lake under their own steam; this is the longest section of the passage (37 km/23 mi). The Gatún Locks at the north end of the lake form the final stage of passage to the Caribbean; they have double flights, enabling simultaneous passage in opposite directions.

The Gatún Dam, the largest in the world at the time of construction, was built in 1906 in order to conserve enough water to operate the locks during dry seasons. It supplies 296 million litres/65 million gallons of water each time the locks are opened.