| The Panama Canal
Panama Canal, canal across the
Isthmus of Panama, in Central America, that allows vessels to travel
between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The waterway measures 64 km, including dredged approach channels at each end. The Panama Canal
handles a large volume of world shipping and enables vessels to avoid
traveling around South America, reducing their voyages by thousands of
miles and many days. The Panama Canal is the world's biggest
trench dug by man. The canal is a series of locks that act like
elevators, going up and down. These locks are pushing cruise ships
and cargo ships into the interior of Panama. After the first
series of locks you sail through a natural resource of Panama, the Gatun
Lake. Surrounded by lush rainforest the site is truly amazing and
worthwhile. Panama is quick becoming a destination for savvy
travelers, both by land and by sea. Land tours and adventures are
now offered online and cruises to Panama and through the Panama Canal
area are quick becoming a very successful type of travel during the fall
and spring for cruise vacationers.
The canal consists of artificially created lakes, channels, and a series
of locks, or water-filled chambers, that raise and lower ships through
the mountainous terrain of central Panama. Built by the United States
from 1904 to 1914, the Panama Canal posed major engineering challenges,
such as damming a major river and digging a channel through a mountain
ridge. It was the largest and most complex project of this kind ever
undertaken at that time, employing tens of thousands of workers and
costing $350 million. Going from the Pacific to the Caribbean
through Panama is one of the easiest trips available. The weather
is warm and sunny, great beaches and swimming, historical ruins and
culture abounds in Panama.
The canal cuts through the central and most populated region of Panama,
and it has been a point of dispute between the governments of Panama and
the United States through most of its existence. Under a 1903 treaty,
the United States controlled both the waterway and a large section of
the surrounding land, known as the Panama Canal Zone, as if they were
U.S. territory. Panamanians resented this arrangement and argued that
their country was unfairly denied benefits from the canal.
Eventually, riots and
international pressure led the United States to negotiate two new
treaties, which were signed in 1977 and took effect in 1979. The
treaties recognized Panama’s ultimate ownership of the canal and all the
surrounding lands. More than half of the former Canal Zone came under
Panamanian control shortly after the treaties were ratified. Control of
the canal was turned over to Panama on December 31, 1999. The
capital of Panama is a modern, thriving commercial center stretching
10km along the Pacific coast from the ruins of Panamá Viejo in the east
to the edge of the Panama Canal in the west. The old district of San
Felipe juts into the sea on the southwestern side of town. It's an area
of decaying colonial grandeur, striking architecture, peeling paint and
decrepit balconies. Attractions include the 17th-century Metropolitan
Church, the Interoceanic Canal Museum of Panama, the Plaza de Bolívar,
the presidential palace, the History Museum of Panama and the sea wall
built by the Spaniards four centuries ago. Via España's banking district
is the complete opposite to this yesteryear charm, with aggressively
modern buildings and sophisticated entertainments. Panama
cruises through the canal offer a quick way to see Panama and the
beautiful countryside if one cannot take a day or land tour.
Attractions on the fringes of
the city include the Panama Canal, the 16th-century ruins of Panamá
Viejo, the Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo, the tropical rain forest of
the Parque Nacional Sobreranía and the 265-hectare Parque Nacional
Metropolitana.
The Panama Canal Region:
The Panama Canal is both an man-made wonder and one of the most
important waterways on earth. Reaching 80km from Panama City on the
Pacific coast to Colón on the Atlantic side, it provides transit for
over 13,000 ocean going ships per year. When you see a ship trudge its
way through the narrow canal, with unspoiled tracts of virgin jungle on
both sides, it is an enchanted sight. The easiest and best way to visit
the Canal is to go to the Miraflores Locks, on the northeastern fringe
of Panama City, where a platform offers visitors a good view of the
locks in operation. There's also a museum with a model and a film about
the Canal. Boats leave Balboa, a western suburb of Panama City, for a
five-hour tour through the locks to Miraflores Lake. Panama canal
cruises are a quick and convenient way to explore Panama. Canal
cruises offer the luxury of seeing how the locks work, the lake,
rainforests and other ships heading through the Panama Canal.
This charming and historical island, 20km south of Panama City, has an
attractive beach, some lovely protected rain forest, and is home to one
of the largest colonies of brown pelicans in Latin America. Known as the
Island of Flowers, because at certain times of the year it is filled
with the aroma of sweet-smelling blooms, the island is a favorite
retreat from the city. Taboga has a long history and was settled even
before Panama City. There is a small church here, claimed to be second
oldest in the Western Hemisphere, and Pizarro set sail from here for
Peru in 1524. The island's annual festival is July 16, and involves
nautical processions and celebrations. Taboga is a one-hour boat trip
from Balboa.
Known for its cool, fresh climate and pristine natural environment, the
small alpine town of Boquete is nestled into a craggy mountain valley
35km North of David. It's a great place for walking, birdwatching,
horseriding, hiking or enjoying a rest from the heat of the lowlands.
Flowers, coffee and citrus fruits are grown in the area and the town's
Feria de las Flores y del Cafe is a popular annual festival held in
January. Boquete is a good base for climbing 3475m Volcán Barú, 15km
west, or visiting the volcano's 14,300-hectare national park.
Panama Links and Information
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| Journey Through the Panama
Canal
The canal consists of dredged
approaches and three sets of locks at each end; Gatún Lake, one of the
largest artificially created bodies of water in the world; and the
excavated portion of the crossing, called Gaillard Cut. At Gatún, on the
Atlantic side, the locks form continuous steps; on the Pacific side, a
small lake (Miraflores) separates the middle and upper locks.
Because the Isthmus of Panama extends east-west, a ship sailing from the
Atlantic to the Pacific through the canal actually travels from
northwest to southeast. To travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, a
ship enters Limón Bay from the north and anchors behind a breakwater to
await scheduling of its passage. When ready, the canal authorities send
out a canal pilot to take the vessel through the locks. The canal
employs about 240 highly trained and experienced pilots to handle the
complex job of steering ships through the waterway. As soon as the pilot
takes over, the ship is under canal jurisdiction. Very large or
hard-to-maneuver ships may require two or more pilots and assistance
from tugboats.
The ship travels south-southeast about 11 km and enters the first
lock at Gatún. Line handlers at the lock attach steel mooring cables
that are controlled by powerful electric locomotives, called mules. The
mules guide the ship through the locks and steady it while the chambers
are filled with water. In three steps the ship is raised to the level of
Gatún Lake, 26 m above the sea.
The canal’s 12 locks have the same
dimensions: 33.5 m wide by 305 m long. The gates at
each end are 2.1 m thick. Water enters and leaves each lock
through a system of main culverts or pipes, which connect to 100 holes
in the floor of each chamber. For each ship traveling through the canal,
197 million liters of fresh water are used, fed by
gravity flow from Gatún Lake. To conserve water, smaller ships often go
through the locks together.
At the top of the Gatún locks, the ship drops the mooring lines and
proceeds under its own power for 37 km through the lake,
following the former channel of the Chagres River. Gatún Dam, built
adjoining the locks, flooded the river basin and formed the lake, which
covers 430 sq km. The flooding created a number of islands,
as the water covered all but the tops of hills. One of these islands, Barro Colorado, is a wildlife refuge operated by the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute.
The waterway gradually narrows until the river turns to the east at
Gamboa, flowing under a bridge of the Panama Railroad. The canal’s
marine division, with cranes, dredges, tugs, and barges, is located at
Gamboa.
South from Gamboa, the canal follows a channel dug through the
mountains, which was the most difficult part of the construction
project. Called Gaillard Cut, this section measures 14 km (9 mi) and
traverses the Continental Divide, a ridge made of rock and shale.
Numerous landslides occurred both during and after construction,
requiring frequent dredging to keep the canal open. The channel through
the cut is 150 m (500 ft) wide, the narrowest part of the canal.
Originally only 91.5 m, the cut was widened in phases beginning
in the 1930s to allow two-way traffic. In the 1990s it was enlarged even
more to accommodate larger ships.
At the southern end of Gaillard Cut, the ship slows and enters Pedro
Miguel locks. Again, cables and mules guide and steady the ship before
it is lowered 9.4 m to Miraflores Lake. The cables are released
and the ship crosses the lake, which is 2.1 km long and lies 16
m (54 ft) above sea level. The ship then enters the last two locks, also
named Miraflores, and is lowered to the level of the Pacific Ocean. The
final stretch of the canal carries the ship to the harbor of Balboa,
where the canal pilot leaves the vessel. The ship sails under the Bridge
of the Americas (formerly known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) and into
the Bay of Panama, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. Northbound ships anchor
in the Bay of Panama while waiting for their turn to travel through the
canal to the Atlantic.
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