Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a man-made waterway that opened in 1914 and connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/panama-canal.htmThe canal allows a ship to save 7,872 miles when traveling from San Francisco to New York.http://www.panamatours.com/Pancanal/Canal_intro.htm It takes between eight and ten hours for a ship to navigate from one end to the other.http://www.embassyofpanama.org/canal/pdf_canal_expansion/ACP%20-%20Panama%20Canal%20Today%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf In 2005, over 922,000 vessels had transited the waterway since it opened in 1914.http://www.embassyofpanama.org/canal/pdf_canal_expansion/ACP%20-%20Panama%20Canal%20Today%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

The canal works through a series of 3 locks, each with 2 lanes.http://www.embassyofpanama.org/canal/pdf_canal_expansion/ACP%20-%20Panama%20Canal%20Today%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf These locks work as lifts that raise the ships 85 feet above sea level as they come from Atlantic or Pacific Oceans to Gatun Lake. After sailing through the Continental Divide, vessels are brought back to sea level on the opposite side of the Isthmus of Panama.http://www.embassyofpanama.org/canal/pdf_canal_expansion/ACP%20-%20Panama%20Canal%20Today%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf The locks are open for visitation 5 days a week and bilingual, guided tours are available.http://www.panamatours.com/Pancanal/Canal_intro.htm The Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side and the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side both have viewing pavilions for viewing transiting ships.http://www.panamatours.com/Pancanal/Canal_intro.htm

In 1899 the U.S. Congress created an Isthmian Canal Commission to examine the possibilities of a Central American canal and to recommend a route.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/panama-canal-icc.htm While the commission had initially considered Nicaragua as the location of the route, Panama was later chosen after it was estimated the cost of the Nicaragua project would be $189,864,062 and that of the Panama project would be $144,233,358.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/panama-canal-icc.htm The United States paid the Republic of Panama $10 million and an annual sum of $250,000 to build the canal and use the land where the canal was constructed.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/panama-canal.htm The U.S. government spent 10 years and $387 million to design and construct the canal.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/panama-canal.htm

The Panama Canal was closed December 8, 2010 due to heavy rains. This was the first time the canal had been closed in over 20 years.http://www.timescolonist.com/Panama+Canal+shut/3949904/story.html The canal was reopened the next day.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/12/2010129115212755546.html The rains during the monsoon season had filled Gatun and Alhajuela lakes to historic levels.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/12/2010129115212755546.html This was the first time since the canal opened in 1914 that inclement weather forced the closing of the waterway.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/12/2010129115212755546.html