The Panama Canal
is approximately 80 kilometers long between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
This waterway was cut through one of narrowest saddles of the isthmus that
joins North and South America.
The Canal uses a
system of locks -compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks function
as water lifts: they raise ships from sea level (the Pacific or the Atlantic)
to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level); ships then sail the
channel through the Continental Divide.
Each set of
locks bears the name of the town site where it was built: Gatun (on the
Atlantic side), and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific side).
The lock
chambers or 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).
Panama Canal and How it Works Video
The water used
to raise and lower vessels in each set of locks comes from Gatun Lake by
gravity; it comes into the locks through a system of main culverts that extend
under the lock chambers from the sidewalls and the center wall.
The narrowest
portion of the Canal is Culebra Cut, which extends from the north end of Pedro
Miguel Locks to the south edge of Gatun Lake at Gamboa. This segment,
approximately 13.7 kilometers long, is carved through the rock and shale of
the Continental Divide. At this point of the canal, where the engineers cut
their way through shale and bedrock to cross the Continental Divide.
Its name (Culebra Cut), is from the Spanish word for snake; the canal curved like
one until it was widened.
Ships from all
parts of the world transit daily through the Panama Canal. Some 13 to 14
thousand vessels use the Canal every year. In fact, commercial transportation
activities through the Canal represent approximately 5% of the world trade.
The Panama 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.
Electric-powered
"mules" cabled to the ships provide precise directional control, with
clearances as low as six inches between the ships and the walls of the locks.
A typical
passage through the canal by a cargo ship takes around nine hours. 14,011
vessels passed through the canal in 2005, with a total capacity of 278.8
million tons, making an average of almost 40 vessels per day
Layout
The canal
consists of two artificial lakes, several improved and artificial channels,
and three sets of locks. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake, acts as
a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship
transiting from the Pacific end to the Atlantic is as follows:
From the
beginning of the buoyed entrance channel in the Gulf of Panama, ships travel
13.2 kilometres (8.2 mi) up the channel to the Miraflores locks, passing under
the Bridge of the Americas
The two-stage Miraflores lock system, including the approach wall, is 1.7
kilometres (1.1 mi) long, with a total lift of 16.5 metres (54 ft) at mid-tide
The artificial
Miraflores Lake is the next stage, 1.7 kilometres (1.0 mi) long, and 16.5
metres (54 ft) above sea level
The single-stage
Pedro Miguel lock, which is 1.4 kilometres (0.8 mi) long, is the last part of
the ascent with a lift of 9.5 metres (31 ft) up to the main level of the canal
The Gaillard (Culebra)
Cut slices 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) through the continental divide at an
altitude of 26 metres (85 ft), and passes under the Centennial Bridge
The Chagres
River (Río Chagres), a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Lake Gatún,
runs west about 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi), merging into Lake Gatun
Lake Gatún, an
artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels 24.2
kilometres (15.0 mi) across the isthmus
The Gatún locks,
a three-stage flight of locks 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long, drop ships back
down to sea level
A 3.2 kilometre
(2.0 mi) channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side
Limón Bay (Bahía
Limón), a huge natural harbour, provides an anchorage for some ships awaiting
transit, and runs 8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi) to the outer breakwater
A cargo ship
transiting the Gatún locks northbound is guided carefully between lock
chambers by "mules" on the lock walls to either side. The total transit from
the Pacific entrance channel to the Atlantic breakwater is 76.9 kilometres
(47.8 mi). The maximum tidal range on the Pacific side is from +3.35 metres
(+11.0 ft) to -3.20 metres (-10.5 ft); hence the lift at Miraflores varies
between 13.1 metres (43 ft) at extreme high tide and 19.7 metres (64.5 ft) at
extreme low tide. The tidal range on the Atlantic side does not exceed 60
centimetres (24 in). Mean sea level at the Pacific end of the canal is on
average about 20 centimetres (8 in) higher than at the Atlantic end.
Limón Bay, on
the Atlantic side, is a sheltered anchorage protected by a seawall; however,
the space inside the bay is no longer adequate for the number and size of
ships using the Panama Canal, and many ships wait at anchor in the open sea outside
the bay. The anchorage on the Pacific side is open although it is protected by
the enclosed topography of the Gulf of Panama.
Operating since
1914 and considered one of the wonders of the world, this fifty-mile waterway
transports ships by raising them from sea level to more than 85 feet via a
series of gravity-powered locks.
Exhibition
halls are open 9am to 5pm. The ticket office closes at 4pm.
Admission
Charged.
Modern elevators
and stairs are both available
The Panama Canal
is a unique experience which can't be reproduced anywhere else in the world.
See 5,000,000-ton vessels rise and drop more than 50 feet as they make their
way over Panama from one ocean to another, and learn about the history and
future of this marvel of modern engineering. There is an educational
museum and a theater inside. There is a restaurant that opens at noon. The
best time to view large ships transiting the canal at this point is by
10:00AM. The large vessels move through by appointment and use the morning
time slots. There are viewing platforms and a bi-lingual narrator is
sometimes available to give details involved in getting ships through the
Panama Canal. The exhibition halls and short film presentation are excellent.
EXHIBITION HALL
1: Canal History. It portrays the background, technological innovations, and
sanitary initiatives that went hand in hand with the construction of the
Canal. This exhibition hall honors the hundreds of men and women who made this
achievement possible.
EXHIBITION HALL
2: Water: Source of Life. It emphasizes the importance of water, conservation
of the environment, protection of the Canal Watershed, and the diversity of
fauna and flora. It underscores the ACP's commitment to the sustainable
management of this resource and the interoceanic region.
EXHIBITION HALL
3: The Panama Canal in Action. This exhibition hall depicts in an entertaining manner
how the Canal operates and allows visitors the experience of being inside a
navigation simulator and one of the lock culverts.
EXHIBITION HALL
4: The Canal of the World. This hall provides information on the importance of
the Canal to world trade, describes the trade routes it serves and the main
commodities, identifies its main users, and allows visitors to get acquainted
with the different types of vessels that transit the waterway. In addition, it
presents some of the criteria studied to guarantee the future competitiveness
of the Panama Canal and benefits to the Republic of Panama.
Gatun Lake
After Lake Mead,
this is the world's largest man-made lake. Gatun Lake forms the central part
of the Panama Canal.
Gatun Locks Visitor Center
48 miles from
Panama City
Gatun Locks, at
the Caribbean end of the canal, are the canal s largest and busiest. There is
a wider time frame for observing ships as they move through the locks at Gatun
than at Miraflores because there are two sets of locks that ships pass through
at this Atlantic terminus, and only one set at Miraflores (resulting in one
way traffic there).
Though you must
climb several flights of stairs, the visitors grandstand at Gatun is large
and comfortable. On arrival at the locks, there will be the option of
short audiovisual presentations on the history of the canal and the mechanics
of its operation.
When our train
from Panama City arrived at Colon, we found no taxi drivers willing to take us
on a simple one-way trip to the locks; they'd much prefer we hire them for
several hours or a full day. I'd met two other Americans on the train, and the
three of us negotiated a set price of U.S. $40 for a trip to and from the
locks with the driver waiting with us for two hours or so. (It's a 20-25
minute drive each way.)
Panama Canal Railway
Opened in 1855,
the 47-mile Panama Canal Railway was the world's first transcontinental
railway. Once badly deteriorated, it has been rebuilt into a steel
superhighway capable of hauling trainloads of double-stacked shipping
containers at 60 mph. Rails are of the continuously welded type of the
heaviest weight, the same as those currently used on North American railroads.
Panama Interoceanic Canal Museum
Avenida Central
between Calle 5 and Calle 6 tel. 211-1995 or
211-1649
9:30 a.m.- 5:30
p.m. Tues. - Sun., closed Mon.
Small Admission
Charge.
Opened in 1997,
this history museum chronicles the planning, construction and present-day
operation of Panama's landmark canal.
Bridge of the Americas
Spanning the
Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, this 5,007-foot-long arch bridge
connects both North and South America and serves as an important part of the
Inter American Highway.
Centennial Bridge
The Centennial
Bridge is located 15km (9 miles) north of the Bridge of the Americas, and
crosses the Gaillard Cut close to the Pedro Miguel locks. New freeway
sections, connecting Araijan in the west to Cerro Patacon in the east via the
bridge, significantly alleviate congestion on the Bridge of the Americas.
The Panama Canal is still one of the
engineering wonders of the world;
the ''Moonshot'' of the Wright Brothers days....
Even by
today's standards it is awesome to see a container ship gliding through
massive locks and past a rain forest. Put the Canal in the context of turn
of the 19th century technology and the feat of its construction is staggering.
The possibilities of a waterway linking the Atlantic and the Pacific in this
region had been well appreciated for four centuries before anyone started to
dig. Spain's King Carlos V ordered a survey of the canal route in 1524 but it
was of presumably decided that cutlasses would not be adequate for the job.
The French started a canal in 1880 under de Lesspeps, builder of the Suez
Canal, but after 20 years of struggle with the jungle, disease, financial
problems and the sheer enormity of the project, they were forced to give up.
In 1903 Panama seceded from Colombia, and the U.S.A. signed a treaty in which
the concession for a public maritime transportation service across the Isthmus
was granted.
The following year the U.S.A. purchased the French Canal
Company’s properties
for $40 million and began to dig. On August 15th, 1914 the U.S. cargo ship
''Ancon'' made the first transit.
The story of this gigantic task is best told in the book, ''The Path Between
the Seas'' by David McCullough.
The story is also told dramatically in the murals of the rotunda of the
Administration Balboa Heights.
To see the Canal at work (every year handling more than 13,056 bluewater
ships, under the flags of about 70 nations) go to the spectator stands at
Miraflores or Gatun locks. Bilingual commentators there are brimful of
information and statistics.
The average toll for ships using the canal is about $48,000.00 but many save
about ten times this figure by eliminating the journey round the Horn.
Panama Canal Record tolls:
Coral Princess which transited for $226,194.25
and Richard Halliburton who swam the Canal in 1926 and was charged 36 cents
after his displacement tonnage was calculated.
Cruise Ship at
Miraflores Locks Visiting Centre
Electric-powered
"mules" cabled to the ships provide precise directional control, with
clearances as low as six inches between the ships and the walls of the locks.
