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Location of Panama between the Pacific Ocean (bottom) and the Caribbean Sea (top), with the canal at top center. The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82-kilometre (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, cutting across the Isthmus of Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade.
The idea of the Panama Canal dates back to 1513, when Vasco Núñez de Balboa first crossed the Isthmus of Panama. This narrow land bridge between North and South America was a fine location to dig a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The earliest European colonists recognized this, and several proposals for the construction ...
The Panama Canal locks ( Spanish: Esclusas del Canal de Panamá) are a lock system that lifts ships up 85 feet (26 metres) to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. The original canal had a total of six steps (three up, three down) for a ship's passage. The total length of the lock structures, including the approach walls, is ...
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties (Spanish: Tratados Torrijos-Carter) are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which superseded the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903. The treaties guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after 1999, ending the control of the canal that ...
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty ( Spanish: Tratado Hay-Bunau Varilla) was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. It was named after its two primary negotiators, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, the French diplomatic ...
Culebra Cut. The Culebra Cut, formerly called Gaillard Cut, is an artificial valley that cuts through the Continental Divide in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Gatun Lake, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and hence the Pacific Ocean. It is 7.8 miles (12.6 km) from the Pedro Miguel lock on the Pacific ...
The Panama Canal Museum ( Spanish: Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá) is a non-profit and public museum located in Panama City, Panama. Established in 1997, the museum is devoted to the history of the construction of the Panama Canal in its various stages, including the first French construction attempt, the later construction by the ...
Gatun Dam. Coordinates: 9°16′N 79°56′W. The Gatun Dam is an earthen dam across the Chagres River in Panama, near the town of Gatun. The dam, constructed between 1907 and 1913, is a crucial element of the Panama Canal; it impounds the artificial Gatun Lake, which carries ships 33 kilometres (21 mi) of their transit across the Isthmus of ...