Panama Canal

• Length: 81.6 km
• Width: 150 m
• Depth: 12 m

The Panama Canal is Panama's main and most famous landmark . It's hard to imagine a person who has never heard this name. After all, many people go to Panama in order to visit the famous canal. Our article will help you to make a correspondence excursion to the Panama Canal and get acquainted with the history of its creation.

Here you will find answers to the main questions: where is the Panama Canal, which oceans it connects. Also you will learn what the depth of the Panama Canal is, and what country it crosses.

General information

The Panama Canal is an artificially created navigable path located on the Panama Isthmus in the territory of Panama. It connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Geographical coordinates of the Panama Canal: 9 degrees north latitude and 79 degrees west longitude. The role of the famous navigable artery is difficult to overestimate, and the importance of the Panama Canal is quite large - it is the most important water transport junction of the state at the international level. Some of its channels have the highest throughput in the world.

Historical reference

A grandiose project for the construction of the Panama Canal was not implemented immediately. In spite of the fact that the idea to connect the two oceans by a waterway appeared long before the beginning of its erection, technically it became possible only at the end of the XIX century. After the first unsuccessful attempt to create a channel in 1879, a huge number of shareholders were devastated, and thousands of builders were killed by malaria. Project leaders were convicted of criminal acts. In 1902, the Americans seriously undertook the construction of the Panama Canal, and this time they brought the matter to an end.

In works that lasted 10 years, more than 70,000 people participated. The year of the official opening of the Panama Canal is 1914. In August of this year, the first ship, "Cristobal", solemnly passed through the canal. A major landslide, descended in the same autumn, violated the crossing of the Panama Canal, but after the reconstruction of 1915 at the second inauguration of the canal the traffic was completely restored.

Main features of the channel

Implementing a large-scale project, the Americans showed real miracles of engineering: the length of the Panama Canal is 81.6 km, with 65 km of them laid overland. The total width of the canal is 150 meters, the depth is only 12 meters. About 14,000 vessels of various types pass annually through the Panama Canal - private yachts, large tankers and container ships. Because of the heavy workload of the channel, the queue for passing through it is sold at auctions.

Movement along the transport corridor is from the south-east to the north-west. The structure of the Panama Canal is defined by several groups of locks (Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores) and two artificial reservoirs. All local locks are bilateral, which determines the safe movement of oncoming ships.

The famous canal of Panama, on the one hand, connected two oceans, and on the other - divided the two continents. This was experienced by the inhabitants of the Colon and Panama , being isolated from the rest of the state. The problem was solved by starting in 1959 the construction of a bridge across the Panama Canal, known as the bridge of the two Americas . Since 1962, there is a continuous automobile line that connected the two continents. Earlier, this connection was provided by means of drawbridges.

Perspectives of the Panama Canal

The main attraction of Panama, despite its considerable age, is still in great demand. However, the volumes of the world shipping are constantly growing, and the Panama Canal is faced with regular problems - more and more "sea jams" have started to form. Therefore, today the question arises of the construction of a second channel. It is planned to build a similar channel in Nicaragua, which will be an excellent alternative to the Panama Canal. In addition, natural conditions contribute to this.

How to get to the Panama Canal?

From the city of Panama to local attractions is easiest to get a taxi. From the city center to the destination, a taxi ride will cost no more than $ 10. But back, oddly enough, it's better to return by bus to MetroBus. For $ 0.25 you can get to the airport of Albrook , and then by metro to the city.