Panama
Canal History
Canal
Transit Tour
For over 10,000 years the Panama
Isthmus has been used by man to transit between
North and South America. Ever since 1513 when
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa discovered the
Pacific Ocean there was dream to build a canal
to connect the 2 Oceans. Then in 1534 the King
of Spain ordered a study of the Panama Isthumus
which the intention of building the worlds first
large scale canal, however this never happened.
In 1880 the French decided
that after the success of the Suez Canal they
would easily be able to build a canal across
solid land. French companies directed by Ferdinand
de Lesseps started a project to dredge the area
for the first Canal to connect the Pacific Ocean
with the Atlantic Ocean. But after seven years
of fighting diseases and the indomitable problems
of the jungle terrain, de Lesseps was forced
to abandon the project.
Then in 1903 after Panama declared
its independence from Columbia and signed the
Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, construction on the
canal started. The Panama Canal was finally
finished August 15th 1914 and the U.S. cargo
ship Ancon was the first vessel to fully transit
the Canal, and all this while WWI was happening
in Europe. People from all over the world came
to help build the canal - Chinese, English,
Americans, French, etc. When the canal was finished
many people stayed in Panama hence why it is
called a melting pot!!
Not many people know that the
Americans looked into first building the canal
in Nicaragua under the watchful eye of Senator
Morgan. However due to the political unrest
in Nicaragua and the Volcanoes it was seen that
Panama was a much better candidate.
The Panama Canal uses a system
of Locks to bring ships from one Ocean to the
other. In total there are 4 locks in the canal
raising ships to a total of 26m above sea level
as they transit through the fresh water of the
canal. Many people find it hard to believe that
the water in the Panama Canal is actually fresh
water from the Chagres River. Each of the locks
bear a name based on the town where it is located:
Gatun (on the Atlantic side), and Pedro Miguel
and Miraflores (on the Pacific side). The lock
chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8
meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships
that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters
in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters
in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long
(depending on the type of ship).
The narrowest part of the canal
is about 13 miles up the canal from the Pacific
side and is called the Culebra Cut, which extends
from the north end of Pedro Miguel Locks to
the south edge of Gatun Lake at Gamboa, it stretches
for 8 miles in total. In total 13-14,000 ships
transit the canal every year and currently there
is a million dollar plan to reinforce the Panama
Canal. In fact, commercial transportation activities
through the Canal represent approximately 5%
of the world trade. The Canal has a work force
of approximately 9 thousand employees and operates
24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing transit
service to vessels of all nations without discrimination.
Canal
Transit Tour
See more pictures of the canal
below:
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