Panama Canal

One of the most remarkable feats in the history of engineering is the building of the Panama Canal. It has had an effect on the commerce of the whole world. For example, it not only shortens the distance between many Atlantic to Pacific ports by 8,000 miles, but it cuts the total mileage from Great Britain to New Zealand by 1,500 miles. Originally, the canal was going to be built by the French. The plan called for the canal at sea level, 29.5 feet deep and 72 feet wide at the bottom. But the French plan couldn?t be completed for many reasons, and the United States undertook to build the Canal in 1904. The French were going to cut below the level of the sea from ocean to ocean. But this plan had its dangers. If the tide happened to be higher at one end than at the other, a dangerous current might result. It also required much more digging. So a lock canal was decided upon. That meant that there must be water available at the higher levels to fill the higher parts of the canal. This was obtained by damming the Chagres River. The locks form a kind of "staircase" for taking ships through the canal. This means the ships are raised at certain points to where the water level is higher, and then lowered to other levels. Nearly half of the canal runs through Gatun Lake. Vessels approaching the lake from the Pacific side are lifted 54 feet from sea level by a series of two locks. A mile further on there will be a third lock raising the ship another 31 feet. You then sail along a narrow channel called the Gaillard Cut, a distance of eight miles. Near the Atlantic side, you will again be lowered 85 feet by a series of three locks to sea level. Within the locks, the vessels are hauled by electric locomotives called ?mules? moving along the banks.