Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a large canal that cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The canal has two sets of lockss on the Pacific side and one on the Atlantic.At the Atlantic end, the massive steel gates at Gatún are 70 feet (21 m) high and weigh 745 tons each, but are so well-counterbalanced that a 40 horsepower (30 kW) engine suffices to open and close them. The Pacific end, called Miraflores, is 24 cm higher than the Atlantic end and has much greater tides. Between Miraflores Locks and GatÃÂún Lake are Pedro Miguel Locks; each of these sets consists of one lock for Atlantic-bound ships and one for Pacific-bound. Lake GatÃÂún, which is 26 meters above sea level, is fed by the Chagres River, which was dammed to make the lake. Gaillard Cut, between Miraflores and Pedro Miguel, is 9 meters above sea level. The Atlantic end is northwest of the Pacific end.
Several islands are located within the Lake GatÃÂún portion of the Panama Canal, including Barro Colorado Island, a world-famous wildlife sanctuary.
The term "Panamax" is used to designate the dimensions of a ship built specifically to be the maximum size that will fit through the Panama Canal.
After decades of wrangling, the canal finally opened in 1914History
The Panama Railway was built across the isthmus from 1850 to 1855. The infrastructure of this functioning railroad was a key consideration in the plan to build the canal in Panama.
Prior to the Panama Canal's construction, the fastest way to travel by ship from New York to California would have been by "rounding the Horn" Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America, a long and dangerous route. After the success of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French were confident that they could connect another two seas with little difficulty. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was in charge of the construction of the Suez Canal, was initially called upon to build the new canal at Panama and construction began on January 1, 1880.
However, there was a vast difference between digging quantities of sand in a dry flat area and removing enormous quantities of rock from the middle of a jungle. Technical problems and high mortality rates from malaria, yellow fever and other tropical diseases eventually forced the French to abandon the project.
President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States was confident that the United States could complete the project, and recognized that US control of the passage from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans would be militarily and economically important. Panama was then part of Colombia so Roosevelt proceeded to negotiate with the Colombians to obtain the necessary permission. In early 1903 the Hay-Herran Treaty was signed by both nations, but the Colombian Senate failed to ratify the treaty. In what was then, and still is, a very controversial move, Roosevelt implied to Panamanian rebels that if they revolted the US Navy would assist their cause for independence. Panama proceeded to proclaim its independence on November 3, 1903, and the U.S.S. Nashville in local waters impeded any interference from Colombia (see gunboat diplomacy).
Here, three locks of the canal can be seen
When fighting began Roosevelt ordered US battleships stationed off of Panama's coast for "training exercises". Many argue that fear of a war with the United States caused the Colombians to avoid any serious opposition to the revolution. The victorious Panamanians returned the favor to Roosevelt by allowing the United States control of the Panama Canal Zone on February 23, 1904 for $10 million (as provided in the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, signed on November 18, 1903).
The first success of the North Americans was to eliminate the noxious yellow fever that had killed so many construction workers. Walter Reed had determined in Cuba during the Spanish-American War that the disease was spread by mosquitos. 20,000 French workers had died it. However, new health measures led by Dr William C. Gorgas eliminated yellow fever in 1905 and improved general sanitation and working conditions.
The first chief engineer of the project was John Findlay Wallace. Hampered by disease, his work did not go well and he resigned after one year. The second chief engineer, John Stevens, started by improving the construction worker's living conditions. He abandoned the original plan to construct the canal at sea level and started work on a lock and dam system. He resigned in 1907. US Colonel George Washington Goethals was the last chief engineer and his management of the project was highly praised. The work was still grueling, but great progress was made.
US President Woodrow Wilson triggered the blowing up of the Gamboa Dike on October 10, 1913 thus completing the construction of the canal. Numerous West Indian laborers had worked on the Canal, and official mortality figures were 5.609 lives.
Pedro Miguel Locks under construction, early 1910's, showing center wall and intakes, looking north
When the canal opened on August 15, 1914 it was a technological marvel. A complex series of locks allowed even the largest ships to pass. The canal was an important strategic and economic asset to the US, and revolutionized world shipping patterns.
The United States used the canal during World War II to help revitalize their devastated Pacific Fleet. Some of the largest ships the United States had to send through the canal were aircraft carriers, in particular the Essex class aircraft carrier. These were so large that, although the locks could hold them, the lampposts that lined the canal had to be removed.
The canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it were administered by the United States until 1999 when control was relinquished to Panama. This was the result of the September 7, 1977 signing of the Torrijos - Carter Treaty in which US president Jimmy Carter conceded to Panamanian demands for control. The treaty called for a gradual handover that placed the canal completely under Panamanian jurisdiction by December 31, 1999.
Panama has since managed the Canal very professionally, breaking all previous traffic, revenue and safety records year after year.
It has been declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.