When did the Panama Canal open? Panama Canal - from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean between the Americas

Location: Panama
Opening: June 12, 1920
Length: 81.6 m
Bandwidth: 48 ships per day
Coordinates: 9°06"09.5"N 79°41"14.1"W

Short description

Today, the Panama Canal, which connects the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is still considered one of the greatest and, undoubtedly, the most complex construction projects in the entire history of mankind.

Bridge of the Americas

Its length is relatively short: only 81 kilometers and 600 meters. 65 kilometers also pass on land, and 16.5 kilometers along the bottom of the Limon and Panama bays. All these figures are of interest to sociologists, geologists, ichthyologists and, to some extent, historians. However, the Panama Canal is a real revolution in the economy and shipping throughout our vast planet. One can only imagine how shortened the route is for ships traveling from the largest metropolis in the world, New York, to San Francisco. Before the vital canal was put into operation, ships had to travel a distance of almost 23,000 kilometers between the two cities. Thanks to the canal built by mankind, this section of the journey was reduced to only 9,500 kilometers.

The canal is located in Panama, which translated from the Indian language into Russian sounds like “a place where there are a lot of fish.” Panama is an amazingly beautiful state, and the Panama Canal is one of its main attractions, a kind of monument to the perseverance and heroism of the people who took part in its construction. In 2012, on the pages of The New York Times, the most popular newspaper not only in the United States, but throughout the world, a list of places that are recommended for people who are interested in travel and tourism must be visited. It is interesting that this small list, by the way, was headed by Panama.

Construction of the Panama Canal

As mentioned above, a canal that connects the two great oceans in a place convenient for navigation was necessary. This was well understood not only by our contemporaries, but also by people who lived back in the 16th century. It was then that Alessandro Malaspina proposed a unique project for the construction of the Panama Canal. This idea aroused the rage of King Philip II of Spain, who was a devout Catholic. “What God created on Earth, what he considered necessary to connect, we simply do not have the right to tear apart!” said the king and in a special document approved a ban not only on construction, but even on the development of any such projects.

Documents that have survived to this day allow historians to draw a certain conclusion: The first construction of the Panama Canal started in 1879 and... turned into a terrible disaster. A disaster for humanity and a disaster for the economy. The nightmare, which was called the “construction of the Panama Canal” at the end of the 19th century, was led by Ferdinand Lesseps, who had already become famous for the construction of the Suez Canal.

The big name of the construction manager did not cause even the slightest doubt among society and influential businessmen of that time about the success of the enterprise. A company was officially registered in Paris, called the “General Company of the Interoceanic Canal”. Its shares were in consistently high demand and were, even by modern standards, extremely expensive, which did not prevent more than 800,000 people from purchasing them. This was not surprising; everyone firmly believed in the success of the grandiose construction. By the way, in one of the Forbes magazines, a wealthy investor gave a short interview in which he admitted that if he had lived at that time, having studied all the possible risks, he would, without a single doubt, have invested most of the funds in the construction of the Panama Canal.

Nine long years have passed since the start of construction, more than $300,000,000 were spent, which for that period of time was considered a colossal amount, and the work was not even a third completed. The budget was exceeded, the project of Ferdinand Lesseps was fundamentally wrong. His inaccurate calculations not only led to the bankruptcy of the company, but also claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people. “People are dying one after another, they are affected by yellow fever and malaria, doctors cannot cope with the epidemic, workers are fleeing the construction site as if from a place cursed by God,” one of the chief engineers wrote in his reports. Ferdinand Lesseps was accused of the largest scam and arrested. Naturally, this brilliant architect, who made a lot of mistakes, did not want to get rich in this way, therefore, unable to withstand such a blow of fate, he lost his mind.

This story of the first construction of the Panama Canal will forever remain a dark spot in history. Now the largest financial frauds, the "pyramid schemes", are often called "Panama", which is reminiscent of the biggest scam of the late 19th century, which was not meant to be.

Still, the Panama Canal, as mentioned above, was necessary. And the authorities of the United States of America understood this very well. They analyzed all the errors in the calculations of the author of the previous project and thought about how to protect workers from epidemics. By the way, it was thanks to the new construction of the Panama Canal that two researchers made a discovery: a person becomes ill with yellow fever when bitten by a mosquito that carries the causative agent of this terrible disease. Mosquitoes had to be destroyed at any cost: not far from the construction, entire forests were burned, even small bushes were uprooted, grass was mowed, and swamps in which mosquitoes bred were drained. The result was achieved: 1,500 people reduced the mosquito population to almost nothing, and workers were no longer threatened by malaria and yellow fever.

The new project was developed in the shortest possible time by John Frank Stevens, who proposed using artificial lakes and special locks for the canal that would regulate the water level. Already in 1904, new construction of the Panama Canal began, which lasted almost 10 years. It cost the United States $400 million. True, this construction also cost the lives of almost 6,000 workers. However, the grandiose project was brought to life, and on October 13, 1913, in the White House, the president pressed a special button, after which a colossal explosion occurred: 4,000 kilometers from the residence of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 20 tons of dynamite destroyed the last barrier located near the city of Gamboa. The waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans were finally connected by the Panama Canal.

Speaking about the history of the construction of the Panama Canal, it is impossible not to mention that the United States, which invested huge amounts of money in the implementation of the grandiose project, decided to play it safe. Thanks to the efforts of the United States, Panama was separated from Colombia and gained independence. For such help, the authorities of the country that brings democracy to the world asked for very little: eternal ownership of the land, water space and the bottom of the Panama Canal. Which is exactly what they got.

History of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a waterway through which luxury yachts and cargo ships pass daily. By the way, its dimensions allow the ship to pass into the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific or in the opposite direction, with a width of up to 32.3 meters. The maximum length of the vessel must not exceed 294 meters. Three bridges rise above the canal, and you can watch the movement of ships along it from the window of a car or train: a railway and a highway run along the entire canal.

It would seem that the Panama Canal opens up almost limitless possibilities, but the number of ships planning to sail through it is incredibly large. It often happens that you have to wait more than a week for your turn. The record number of ships that passed through the Panama Canal in one day is “only” 65. A ship, even a small yacht, does not have the right to move through the canal on its own; it is pulled by trains specially designed for this purpose, nicknamed “mules” among sailors.

Naturally, you have to pay for such luxury as crossing from one ocean to another in just 9 (!) hours. And, I must say, pay a lot. For each vessel, depending on its size and tonnage, a special “tax” is established. In addition, there are people who value time more than banknotes: there are special auctions for them. The one who pays the highest amount will be able to skip the line and go through the canal. For example, in 2006, a huge queue of 90 ships lined up in front of the entrance to the Panama Canal. An auction took place and the tanker named Erikoussa won. Apparently, he was in a hurry to transport his cargo, since he did not regret paying almost $220,400 for an extraordinary passage through the Panama Canal, although if he had waited a week or two, he would have had to shell out only $13,400.

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the most important milestones in shipping. Commissioned in 1920 (the first ship passed through it in 1914, but due to a landslide in the fall of that year, official traffic was opened only six years later), the canal shortened the distance between the ports of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans several times - previously, To get from one ocean to another, ships had to go around South America all the way around Cape Horn. Today, the Panama Canal is one of the world's main shipping routes, through which about 18 thousand ships pass annually (the current canal capacity is 48 ships per day), which constitutes a significant part of the world's cargo turnover. The history of the Panama Canal dates back to the 16th century, when the Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama and reach the Pacific coast - so it was discovered that the territory of modern Panama is only a narrow strip of land between the oceans. In 1539, the Spanish king sent an exploration expedition to study the possibility of building a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, but the expedition reported to the king that this idea was not feasible.
The first real attempt to build the Panama Canal was made by the French in 1879 under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, a diplomat and director of the Suez Canal project, which had opened shortly before, in 1869. But building the Panama Canal was a much more difficult task. In 1889, the French project went bankrupt - the challenge posed by the Panamanian jungle with its tropical rains, impenetrable swamps and at the same time rocky soils, floods and, worst of all, deadly epidemics of malaria, yellow fever, plague, typhus and other diseases was too difficult , which claimed the lives of about 20 thousand people in the first campaign. Then the States took up the construction of the Panama Canal. The United States was interested in shortening the waterway from the ports of California to its Atlantic coast, and most importantly, the Panama Canal had enormous military significance - it made it possible to almost instantly transfer a fleet from one ocean basin to another, which significantly increased the power and global influence of the United States. In 1903, the United States bought the Panama project from the French, ensured Panama's independence from Colombia, which did not want to provide the Americans with the canal zone for essentially indefinite use, and then signed a formal agreement with the new Panamanian government (which was again represented by the Frenchman Philippe-Jean Bunod -Varilla, who was one of the main participants in the bankrupt first project). The treaty gave the United States a 5-kilometer zone on each side of the canal for indefinite use (that is, essentially forever) and the exclusive right to occupy territories outside this zone as part of any measures to protect the waterway. Thus, the declaration of the canal as neutral and the guarantee of free passage through the canal for military and merchant vessels of all nations, both in time of peace and in war, was destroyed by the American stipulation that these regulations would not apply to such measures as the United States deemed necessary to take for the defense of Panama and maintaining order in the channel. In fact, in a war in which the United States participated, its military fortifications would inevitably deprive the other belligerent of the opportunity to use the canal on an equal footing. John Frank Stevens became the chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Taking into account the mistakes of the French, the Americans first of all took enormous measures to disinfect the construction area and prevent tropical diseases. The project was also changed - according to the French project, the Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was supposed to be built at the same level with the oceans, without locks. This required a colossal amount of excavation work on the watershed section of the route. American engineers changed the project and proposed a lock canal with three stages of locks on each side and a watershed section at an altitude of 26 meters above ocean level. The Gatun Reservoir was created on the watershed, into which ships from the Atlantic side were raised in the Gatun locks, and from the Pacific side - in the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. The Panama Canal opened in 1920 and remained under US control for many years. There were dozens of American military bases in the canal zone, and about 50 thousand military and civilian specialists worked. Over time, dissatisfaction regarding this began to grow more and more in Panama, and in 1977 an agreement was signed on the gradual transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. In reality, this process took more than two decades, and the canal zone finally came into the possession of Panama on December 31, 1999. The length of the canal is 81.6 kilometers, of which 65.2 kilometers are actually on land and another 16.4 approach kilometers along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays to deep water. Vessels large enough to pass through the Panama Canal are called Panamax vessels. This standard was the main one for seagoing vessels until the beginning of the 1990s, when active construction of Post-Panamax class vessels (mainly tankers), whose dimensions were larger than the dimensions of the Panama Canal locks, began. Today, the cost of one trip through the Panama Canal depends on the type and size of the vessel and ranges from $800 for a small yacht to $500,000 for the largest vessels. There were also funny cases - for example, in 1928, the famous American traveler Richard Halliburton, who sailed through the canal from one ocean to another, was charged 36 cents. The Panama Canal today is not only one of the world's most important transport connections, but also the main tourist attraction of Panama. The Panama Canal now operates a large tourist center at the Miraflores locks, where from several special observation platforms you can see the locks and the ships passing through them, while the loudspeaker tells about each ship, its route and what it is carrying. There are other tours - by bus along the canal, by rail, walks on small boats; Some standard Caribbean cruises take cruise ships through the Gatun Locks up the Atlantic side of the canal to the watershed and then back out into the Caribbean Sea (and tourists can sail the rest of the Panama Canal on excursions). But by far the best, most unique and enthusiastic way to see the Panama Canal is to transit it entirely on a cruise ship, cross it from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa) and continue the cruise further in a completely different ocean basin. Absolutely everyone, even the most experienced travelers, prepare for the passage of the Panama Canal in a completely special way. The actual passage of the Panama Canal takes on average about 9 hours, not counting the waiting time for ships at huge sea roads on each side. The cruise ship, of course, goes exactly on schedule and heads into the canal immediately, out of turn. The Zaandam approaches the Panama Canal Zone at approximately 5 am. The entrance to the spacious approach area of ​​the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea is marked by powerful lighthouses and protected by many kilometers of dams. At the entrance to the canal in the roadstead, dozens of ships of all sizes and colors stand waiting for their turn, brightly lit in the night. And on the shore of the bay there is the city and port of Colon, with a huge container terminal. The same container terminal is located at the other entrance to the canal - thus, container ships of the “Post-Panamax” class (that is, larger than the locks of the Panama Canal) are unloaded at these entrance ports, containers with cargo are transported along the railway running along the canal, and then on the other side they board new ships and continue the route. The railway between ports is also used to partially unload large container ships passing through the canal to reduce their draft. It’s five in the morning, it’s just starting to get light, but most tourists are already on their feet: entering the Panama Canal is one of the central events of the cruise! We enter the approaching water area, from the board in the pre-dawn twilight the lights of the Colon port are visible.


Having taken on board a group of pilots, we head to the entrance - from the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal begins with a three-stage staircase of Gatun locks, in which ships rise from the level of the Atlantic Ocean to the watershed section of the canal.
To the left of the existing two-line locks, starting in 2007, an additional third line of Panama Canal locks has been built.
They will be significantly larger than the existing ones and will increase the maximum size and draft of ships that can sail through the canal. If the current locks have dimensions of 304.8 x 33.5 and a depth of 12.8 meters, then the new ones are respectively 427 x 55 x 18.3. In addition to the construction of the second stage of locks, the fairway is currently being expanded and deepened at the Culebra watershed, so that two-way traffic of vessels along the entire length of the canal becomes possible (currently, traffic and locking on the Panama Canal is essentially one-way - first a group of ships goes in one direction, then in the opposite direction, and the ships diverge on wider lake sections of the route). After the completion of this large-scale reconstruction, the capacity of the Panama Canal will double. Old and new locks of the Panama Canal


Longitudinal profile of the Panama Canal
Route plan
At 6-30 am we approach the Gatun locks. The movement of ships along one of the most important transport connections in the world goes on continuously, from the bow of the Zaandam we can clearly see four ships rising up the lock stairs in front of us, two in each line.
On the bank of the canal there are huge gates for the second stage of locks under construction - they were made in Italy and were delivered to the canal recently, at the end of August 2013.
We approach the first gateway. Clumsy sea vessels are moved from chamber to chamber with the help of special locomotives, to which mooring lines are attached and tensioned. Locomotives with stretched mooring lines attached to them accompany the vessel on four sides (at the bow and stern on each side) - thus, a perfectly clear entry of huge sea vessels into a very small chamber compared to their size is carried out. Mooring lines from the locomotives are supplied to the ship using a boat.
The mooring lines are secured - let's go!
We enter the first lock chamber - ships rise from the Caribbean Sea to the watershed area in the three-stage Gatun locks. The total lifting height is 26 meters. Accordingly, just under nine meters per step. But from aboard a huge sea liner, this nine-meter drop is not perceived as significant.
There is incredible excitement on the decks!
Since the United States finally withdrew from the Panama Canal in 1999, the unique structure has been maintained entirely independently by Panama. The channel is in good hands!
The locomotive, starting the ship from the stern on the starboard side, deftly climbs up. Now the gates will close and the locking will begin.
Having risen in the first, we move to the second chamber.
One of the Panama Canal webcams is installed in the Gatun locks, which broadcast images on the Internet in real time. At this moment, many of my friends and colleagues are watching us walk through the locks. This is what the Zaandam slowly rising along the Atlantic slope of the Panama Canal looks like from the side.
Having completed the locking in the third chamber, “Zaandam” rises to the level of the watershed section of the canal. From the stern there is a stunning view of the lock staircase going down and the ships ascending it behind us. Breathtaking! Far below lies the expanse of the Caribbean Sea. And for us - to the Pacific Ocean. Goodbye Atlantic!


Having risen through the Gatun locks, the ship enters the lake of the same name. Lake Gatun is actually a large reservoir formed on the watershed by a large dam on the Chagres River, which is clearly visible on the right side.
The canal is fed with water from Lake Gatun. Such canals, in which the reservoir feeding them with water is located in a watershed area, from which water is distributed by gravity to both slopes, are called canals with natural feeding (gravity). In our country these are the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic canals. On Lake Gatun there is another raid of ships waiting their turn at the locks and waiting for the end of locking of those who come towards them. When the second stage of the Panama Canal is put into operation, traffic along the entire length of the route will become completely two-way.
The route along the Gatun Reservoir is approximately half the entire length of the Panama Canal. We admire the surrounding landscapes of the equatorial belt from the deck.


The fairway is not wide and quite winding. The waterway is marked with special buoys.
At the Gatun Reservoir there is a divergence of ships going in opposite directions. A caravan of ships is coming towards us, having passed through the locks of the Pacific slope in the morning and now heading towards the Atlantic slope of the canal. Large tankers, bulk carriers, container ships pass very close by...




The Zaandam is also viewed with interest from the bridges of oncoming cargo ships. The passage of cruise ships through the Panama Canal is a fairly rare event.
On the left side you can see the confluence of the Chagres River, which is crossed by a bridge. Gatun Reservoir ends here. Next, the canal route passes through the artificially dug Culebra cut.
Along the route of the Panama Canal there is a railway along which containers are transported from the Atlantic port to the Pacific port and vice versa. Sometimes tourist trains also run along it.
We go through the Culebra notch - the narrowest part of the Panama Canal. In some sections, ships navigate the canal accompanied by tugboats. There is a whole special flotilla of them working on the Panama Canal.
In the place where the Culebra notch crosses a high mountain range, the banks rise steeply in steps, and the cable-stayed Centennial Bridge is already visible in the distance. It was built in 2004 and became the second permanent bridge over the canal. By the way, bridges over the Panama Canal connect two continents - let's not forget that the Panama Canal not only connects two oceans, but also separates the two Americas. The motto of Panama and the Panama Canal, “A Land Divided – A World United”, I think, is clear without additional translation. Now we have North America on the starboard side, and South America on the left side.
Rising with stone ledges and reinforced with powerful anchors, the slopes of the excavation in this place are reminiscent of some fantastic Mayan pyramids. In principle, in terms of its grandeur, the Panama Canal is a structure quite comparable to them. The volume of rock excavated during the creation of the Culebra excavation is equal in volume to 63 Cheops pyramids in Egypt.
The bridge is left behind.
Soon after the bridge, the watershed section of the canal ends and the descent to the Pacific Ocean begins, which ships also overcome in three 9-meter steps. But the Pacific slope is a little flatter - if on the Atlantic slope all three steps are located in a row in the Gatun locks, then here there are two groups of locks - Pedro Miguel (1 step) and Miraflores (2 steps), separated by a small intermediate pool. So, we go into the Pedro Miguel locks.
About the same view opens from the captain's bridge. From this angle you can clearly see how narrow the lock chamber is compared to the colossal dimensions of ocean-going ships. Even with locomotives guiding the vessel, the navigators here require pinpoint precision. All ships navigate the canal with a group of local pilots.

Locomotives move the Emerald Express tanker into the parallel chamber.
At this time on its decks.
Having finished sluicing in the Pedro Miguel locks, the Zaandam opens into the small Lake Miraflores, like Lake Gatun, formed by the dam. Here we will have to wait a little - along a parallel thread of locks a huge floating crane is being dragged towards us, and for some time the ships go only along one thread.
We go out into the water area and stop. We'll have to wait half an hour until the ship in front of us locks into two chambers, and it's our turn.
The ships following us are also waiting - a small traffic jam!
On the left you can see the dam on the river that formed the Miraflores Reservoir.
Finally, the lock chambers are cleared and ready to receive our ship. This arrow shows the skippers which of the two lines they need to go to.
We go into the left chamber, and towards us from the right chamber the tug finally slowly brings out a huge floating crane, the “culprit” of the traffic jam. Now the locking process will go much faster again.
Near the upper left chamber is the Panama Canal Visitor Center. There are several large open areas, from where anyone can look at the ships passing through the locks.
There is also a webcam from which our ship can be seen as the largest one on the canal. Separating yourself from the crowd, here you can pose gorgeously for your friends and say hello to the Motherland that doesn’t sleep at midnight! At this moment, from the outside we look like this.
Having said goodbye to our friends, we disappear from the field of view of the video cameras. Now see you in two weeks at home, but for now the Zaandam is heading to the last chamber of the Miraflores lock, after which it will leave the Panama Canal, enter the Pacific Ocean and continue its cruise along the coast of South America. The observation decks of the Miraflores tourist center are crowded. The passage of a cruise ship through the canal is a significant event and a unique opportunity for many land tourists to capture rare footage.
Excitement!!!
The gates of the last chamber of the Miraflores locks are closing - the final locking, and we will again find ourselves at ocean level.
Before the construction of two permanent bridges on the Panama Canal, this drawbridge operated, through which communication between the two Americas was carried out for 50 years.
Locomotive driver at work.
Locking is completed - let's go out!
The Pacific Slope locks of the Panama Canal remain behind.
The construction of the second stage of locks is also actively underway on the Pacific slope - the outline of the future new water staircase is already visible here.
We are heading towards the exit.
We leave the Pacific container port on the left.
The exit to the Pacific Ocean is unusually beautiful - we pass under the openwork arch of the Bridge of Americas, opened in 1962.
On the left is a magnificent panorama of the city of Panama, the capital of the state of the same name, surrounded by green hills.

The pilot boat picks up the pilots accompanying the ship on the Panama Canal, and, giving a good-natured siren as a farewell, returns back.
There are also many ships at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Pacific side.

A fresh wind blows in your face, emerging into the open space “Zaandam” is accompanied by a flock of birds...
We are in the Pacific Ocean!

Construction was started by the French in the 19th century, but they were never able to complete the project due to various problems. The American government took over the project in 1904 and completed it a decade later, making history. The canal is now managed by the Panamanian government. The Panama Canal not only benefits traders by facilitating the transit of goods, but is also important from a tourism perspective. Canal cruises are very popular and if you are planning to visit this area then don't miss the chance to travel along the canal on a cruise ship. During this trip you will be able to explore the many exotic attractions of Panama. Travel agencies will offer you hundreds of different cruise packages, including a number of popular ports such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, etc. This tour will allow you to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and visit exotic Panama City.

History of the Channel
In fact, the history of the canal goes back much deeper - to the 16th century. In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to notice the extremely thin Isthmus of Panama separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Balboa's discovery sparked the search for a natural waterway linking the two oceans. In 1534, after no natural route was found, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered an investigation into the possibility of constructing a canal. Inspectors ultimately decided that construction of a shipping canal in these areas was not possible.

Start of construction
An interesting fact in the history of the Panama Canal is another construction attempt undertaken by the designer of the Suez Canal. No serious construction attempts were made until the 1880s. In 1881, the French company of Ferdinand de Lesseps, designer of the Suez Canal in Egypt, began digging a canal through Panama. The project was plagued by poor planning, technical problems and tropical diseases that killed thousands of workers. De Lessep intended to build a canal at sea level, in the image of Suez, without any locks. But the excavation process turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris, was hired to create the locks, but De Lessep's company went bankrupt in 1889. At the time, the French had unprofitably invested more than $260 million in the construction, excavating more than 70 million cubic meters of earth. The collapse of the enterprise caused a big scandal in France. De Lessep and his son Charles, along with Eiffel and several other company executives, were accused of embezzlement, mismanagement and fraud. In 1893 they were found guilty, sentenced to prison and fined. After the scandal, Eiffel retired from business and devoted himself to scientific research. A new French company was created to take over the assets of the failed business and continue the channel, but it soon followed the same path. During the 1800s, the United States was also interested in building a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. For both economic and military reasons, they considered Nicaragua a more advantageous location than Panama. However, this plan was abandoned thanks to the efforts of Philippe-Jean Bounau-Varilla, a French engineer who was involved in both French canal projects. In the late 1890s, Buno-Varilla began lobbying American legislators to purchase French canal assets in Panama, and eventually convinced many that Nicaragua had dangerous volcanoes and Panama was a less dangerous option.
In 1902, Congress authorized the purchase of French assets of the Panama Canal. But Colombia, of which Panama was a part at the time, refused to ratify the agreement. With the support of Buno-Varilla and the tacit approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, Panama rebelled against Colombia and declared independence. After this, US Secretary of State John Hay and Buno-Varilla, as representative of the provisional government of Panama, agreed on the Hay-Buno-Varilla Agreement, which gave America the right to an area greater than 500 square miles in which a canal could be built. According to the agreement, the channel was completely transferred to the control of the Americans. It was agreed that the United States would shell out approximately $375 million for construction, including a $10 million payment to Panama, and $40 million to buy out French assets. A century after the United States completed the Panama Canal, shipping connections through Nicaragua still remain possible: In 2013, a Chinese company announced a $40 billion agreement with the Nicaraguan government for the right to build such a waterway.

Death of workers
More than 25,000 workers officially died during the construction of the Panama Canal. The canal's builders faced many obstacles, including difficult terrain, hot, humid weather, heavy rain, and rampant tropical diseases. Earlier French efforts resulted in the death of more than 20,000 workers, and American efforts fared little better—between 1904 and 1913, about 5,600 workers died due to illnesses or accidents.
Many of these earlier deaths were caused by yellow fever and malaria. According to doctors of the time, these diseases were caused by polluted air and poor conditions. By the early 20th century, however, medical experts had uncovered the key role mosquitoes played in transmitting these diseases, allowing them to significantly reduce the number of worker deaths. Special sanitary measures were carried out, which included draining swamps and ponds, removing possible insect breeding grounds, and installing protective screens on windows in buildings.

Capacity of the Panama Canal

Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal every year.
American ships use the canal the most, pursued by China, Chile, Japan, Colombia and South Korea. Each ship transiting through the canal must pay a fee based on its size and cargo volume. The fee for the largest vessels can reach approximately $450,000. The smallest toll ever paid was 36 cents, paid in 1928 by American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who conquered the canal. Today, approximately $1.8 billion in tariffs are collected annually. On average, a ship takes 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal. Moving through it, a system of locks lifts each vessel 85 feet above sea level. Ship captains are not allowed to take control during transit; instead, specially trained personnel take over control. In 2010, the millionth ship crossed the canal since its opening.

Who controls the Panama Canal?
The United States transferred control of the canal to Panama in 1999. In the years following the canal's opening, relations between America and Panama became tense. Questions arose about control over the canal itself and the area adjacent to it. In 1964, Panamanians rioted because they were not allowed to fly the Panamanian national flag next to the US flag in the canal zone. Following the uprising, Panama temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signed agreements transferring control of the canal to Panama as of 1999, but giving the United States the right to use a force to defend the waterway from any threat to its neutrality. Despite the discontent of many politicians who did not want their country to lose its authority over the canal, the US Senate ratified the Torrijos-Carter Accords in 1978. Control was transferred peacefully to Panama in December 1999.

Expansion of the Panama Canal
The canal is currently being expanded to accommodate modern mega-ships. Work on the expansion began in 2007 at a cost of $5.25 billion, which will allow the canal to accommodate post-Panamax vessels. These vessels are larger than the so-called Panamaxes, which are built to fit the dimensions of the canal. The expanded canal will be able to accommodate cargo ships carrying 14,000 20-foot containers, nearly three times its current volume. The expansion project will be completed at the end of 2015, but the canal will still not be able to accommodate some of the world's largest container ships.

Interesting fact
Approximately 236.4 million liters of fresh water are used for the passage of one ship through the Panama Canal. The water comes from Lake Gatun, formed during the construction of the canal by damming the Chagres River. With an area of ​​262 square kilometers, Gatun was once the largest artificial lake in the world.

To visit Panama and not see the Panama Canal means not to have visited Panama. Today we talk about this attraction, and also share tips on how best to visit the Panama Canal on your own.

Panama Canal. Data.

For those who have never been particularly interested in the Panama Canal, it may seem like a small stream that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In fact, its length is about 80 km, which ships travel in 8-10 hours. Until recently, the width of the canal at the lock points was 34 meters. Thanks to the opening of a new branch in June 2016, the canal can now accommodate ships with a width of 55 meters and a depth below the waterline of more than 18 meters.
The canal consists of a system of locks (gates), which, if moving from the Caribbean Sea, first raises the water level by 26 meters above sea level in the Gatun area. After passing the main part, the water level is lowered using the Pedro Miguel lock (9.5 meters) and the Miraflores lock system (two chambers 16.5 meters).

The electrification of the site was carried out, among other things, with the help of two hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 22.5 and 36 MW, located in Gatun and near Miraflores.

History of the construction of the Panama Canal.

The idea of ​​​​building a canal was first mentioned in the 16th century, and the history of its approval and construction was accompanied by political and economic confrontations in countries such as the USA, Spain, Great Britain, and France. Now they are going to dig a similar canal through Nicaragua: the project was adopted relatively recently - in 2014.
In 1879, the developer of the Suez Canal, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, began a campaign to build the Panama Canal. As a result, the French arrived in Panama in 1881 and began excavation work in 1882. Thus, 1882 can be considered the beginning of the construction of the canal.

The original plan was to build a canal 22 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Interestingly, the project did not include a lock system: the canal was supposed to naturally connect two oceans to the same sea level, which meant cutting off the isthmus and deep excavations. In addition to engineering difficulties, construction was complicated by the yellow fever epidemic, the financial crisis, and a legal scandal in which many politicians, including Ferdinand, were accused of accepting bribes.
As a result, the project was bought by the Americans, who made the key decision to use a lock system to reduce excavation work. Over seven years, 153 million cubic meters of earth were excavated in dry mining. The work also included drilling and blasting rocks.
To increase the depth of the canal, various techniques were used, including ships. This vessel was specially built in Scotland and began work in 1912. A chain with 52 buckets made it possible to excavate more than 1,000 tons of material in less than 40 minutes.

On October 10, 1913, US President Wilson ordered by telegraph to blow up the remaining small part of the land that separated the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The first ship to pass through the canal while still in operation was the floating crane Alexandre Le Valle. This happened in January 1914. In August of the same year, its path was repeated by the cargo and passenger ship Cristobal. The official opening of the canal is considered to be August 15, 1914 and the passage of the cargo ship Ancon.

How to visit the Panama Canal.

Few people know that the passage of ships through the Panama Canal can be seen in several places: in Colon (Gatun Gate) and near Panama City (Miraflores Gate). Gatun has the advantage of being cheap to visit and lacking crowds of tourists. On the other hand, these advantages are completely outweighed by the disadvantages. Colon is one of the most dangerous cities in Panama. We are often skeptical about horror stories from Lonely Planet, where it is also written that you should not go to Colon, so at first we planned to visit it. However, after talking with the locals, we abandoned this idea. Colon turned out to be really dangerous, and we were told that even at the station there was a possibility of robbery. “It depends,” summed up one of our random local fellow travelers.
If you have plenty of time in Panama, you can take a boat trip through the canal. There are commercial offers, but you can also become a volunteer on a yacht waiting in line. There are special sites where yacht owners look for a crew. According to Panamanian law, any ship must have four mooring crew, and their services are not cheap - from $50, so captains and owners are looking for adventure seekers. You can google Panama canal transit line handlers or look at the website http://www.panlinehandler.com/. We even had the option of couchsurfing on such a yacht, but, unfortunately, it didn’t suit the dates at all.

There is also the opportunity to ride a special train along the canal. It’s hard for us to say what you can see from him there to pay pretty decent money.

In the end, we went, like most, to Miraflores. You can get there from Albrook station, which is probably familiar to tourists arriving in Panama City on their own. The bus to Miraflores leaves every hour at 00 (exit F), and, lo and behold, the sign says Miraflores (usually logistics in Panama are not so simple). The bus takes you all the way to the Miraflores complex; entrance tickets cost $15 for non-residents and $10 for children.

Despite the technical possibility of simultaneous servicing of ships in two directions, in the morning the ships go towards the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic), and in the afternoon back towards the Pacific Ocean. The channel is recommended for visiting from 9.00 to 11.00 and then after 13.00. We were late for the first period due to problems with breakfast at the hotel. We managed to pass the time a little by visiting the museum and watching a short film about the construction of the Panama Canal. The session in English starts every hour at 50, in Spanish – at 20 minutes.
The museum complex includes a souvenir shop, as well as a museum with an exhibition, where the most interesting was the video of the passage of the canal from the captain's wheelhouse.

Despite all this entertainment, we had to wait about three more hours for the ships to pass. Meanwhile, local personnel, using loudspeakers, told some facts about the canal, and also informed about the probable time of arrival of the ship. In general, at first it was interesting to listen to, and people with a bullhorn said that it was not the season, but then this record began to really tire and irritate. In our case, the movement was supposed to start at two o’clock, but in fact it happened even later – at three.

There are several opportunities to watch ships. Firstly, there is a large deck on the 4th floor. From there we watched as pleasure boats with tourists who paid $150 per ticket passed the canal from the middle.

On the second floor there is a small amphitheater with stadium-style seating. We had to wait another three hours, so we landed there. True, we were tormented by doubts whether everyone would sit so decorously during the passage of the ships. The center workers assured that this would be the case. Naive... Closer to three people kept coming and coming, and just stood near the fence.

Just before their arrival, workers with a bullhorn tried to reason with the people, but after unsuccessful attempts they quickly retreated. We deliberately took places on the edge so that in case of emergency we would have a view towards the approaching ships. But the smartest spectators stood on the steps and could not be moved. So every now and then I had to get up to take a photo or even go downstairs and brazenly squeeze through.

Probably the best option for observations is the cafe on the third floor. But we don’t know how to book a table and wait, and what the general policy is in this regard.
And then everyone perked up. In the speakers, we heard about the approaching ship. Everyone started clicking their cameras despite the fact that the ship still had a long way to go.

The passage of the ship is certainly interesting and fascinating. The ship enters the lock chamber and stops, after which the first gate closes behind it.

Then the water is pumped out of the chamber, and the ship quietly sinks with it. From the photographs you can see for yourself the initial and final results. As we have already written, the total drop at this gate is 16.5 meters.

When the water level in the two chambers becomes the same, the gate in front of the ship opens and it moves into the next chamber. Locomotives or “mules”, as they are called here, help the ship move inside the canal.

The ship passes the last gate far enough from the observation deck, according to the same scenario as the previous gate, so almost no one paid attention to it.

Thus, we were able to see how the three ships sailed. It was impressive. We spent almost a day here and got a little tired from the heat, the waiting, the people who couldn't sit still, but it was still worth it. We went to Panama Bay to have dinner by the ocean, and along the way we even managed to overtake a ship we were already familiar with.

95 years ago (1914) the Panama Canal was opened.

By 1882, preparatory work had actually been done to build an open, non-sluice-type canal. But Lesseps' company went bankrupt and receivership was appointed in 1889.

In 1894, a new French company for the construction of the Panama Canal was formed, which began working on the construction of a lock canal, and in 1904 the company was sold to the US government for $40 million. In 1903, the Republic of Panama became independent from Colombia and in 1904 the United States agreed with the government of Panama on a perpetual lease of the canal zone, which constitutes a strip of 16 km wide, for an amount of 10 million dollars and an annual fee of 250 thousand dollars.

This amount subsequently increased several times, reaching $110 million in 1998.

Construction of the Panama Canal lasted 11 years. The cost of its construction was $220 million. During the construction of the canal, technical solutions that were unique for that time were used. The canal was built as a six-stage lock passage through the mountainous Isthmus of Panama and ran in a northwest to southeast direction from the Atlantic port of Cristobal and the city of Colon to the port of Balboai in Panama on the Pacific coast.