Panama Canal

#Halloween2023 The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometer-long artificial waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and separates North and South America. The canal crosses the Isthmus of Panama and is a passage for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever built, the Panama Canal significantly reduces the time it takes ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing them to avoid the long and dangerous Cape Horn route around the southern tip of South America, via the Drake Passage or the Strait of Magellan, and the more unpopular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait. Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during its construction. The French began building the canal in 1881, but stopped because of engineering problems and a high mortality rate among workers, which led to a lack of investor confidence. The United States took over the project on May 4, 1904, and the canal opened on August 15, 1914. The United States continued to control the canal and the area surrounding the Panama Canal until the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaty provided for its transfer to Panama. After a period of joint U.S.-Panamanian control, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999. It is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. Canal locks at either end raise ships into Gatun Lake, an artificial lake designed to reduce the amount of excavation required for the canal, 26 meters above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end. The original lock was 33.5 metres wide. A third, wider lock channel was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operations on June 26, 2016. The new locks will allow larger neo-Panamax vessels to transit. All large ships entering the lift lock channel shut down their engines, making the ship lose power, and then rely entirely on tractors to pass through the narrow lift channel. Small boats use their own power to pass through the lift lock channel. #OverseasTravel #CentralAmerica #Panama #Canal #PanamaCanal #Ship #Tourism #TravelStrategy #TravelDestinations #TravelPhotography