The Panama Canal is over 80 years old and needs updating and expansion. The people of Panama have voted to fund this remodeling.
The people of Panama have big plans for the Panama Canal. In October 2006, they voted to expand the canal significantly so that it would be able to accommodate the much larger ships of today. This speaks well for the small country and for all peoples of the world, as much of our commerce passes through the Canal.
What is the Panama Canal? The Panama Canal is a series of canals, locks, and artificial lakes that have been cut through the land of the isthmus between North America and South America. The canal provides a pathway for ships passing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, about 40 miles. Its importance lies in the fact that ships would have to sail around South America, more than 6,000 extra miles, to reach these oceans without the Canal.
How was it built? In the late 1800s a French company started construction of an ill-conceived and under funded sea level canal across the isthmus. As might be expected, the company could not cope the immense problems from working in a tropical climate with odd diseases and few workers willing to work there. It went bankrupt.
A few years later, through a series of rebellions, wars, and a questionable treaty, a strip of land 10 miles wide through the middle of the newly independent Panama was obtained by the United States, and the Canal could now become a reality. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the digging to start in 1903. The new plans called for a series of locks instead of a sea level canal. This was made because of the tremendous differences in tidal action between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, up to 20 feet. The canal was finished and became usable in the early 1920s. At that time, and still today, the construction of the canal is thought to be one of the most monumental undertakings of all time. Most historians consider this effort to be one of the wonders of the world.
What has been happening the last few years? Over the years of operation of the Canal, the United States tried to mollify the government of Panama over the ownership of the Canal and the Canal Zone, but tensions continued to fester, and in the 1970s a treaty was finally signed by then President Jimmy Carter turning over the Canal to Panama, effective in 1999.
After Panama took the canal over, virtually all improvements were put on hold. However, in a bold move in October of 2006, the people of Panama voted to make improvements with an estimated value of $5.25 billion. The improvements will include two new locks, one at each entrance, two new shipping channels connecting to the locks, deepening and widening the existing shipping lanes, and expanding and enhancing the technological navigation potentials. If everything goes as expected, the upgrading will enable the Canal to almost double the number of ships it can accommodate.
A further complicating factor is that Nicaragua is in the process of seeking backing to build its own canal. If another canal is ever built, it would have to be through Nicaragua as no other suitable area in Central America would be suitable.
Facts
- 34 years Amount of time it took to build the Canal, 1880 to 1914
- 80,000 Number of persons who worked building the Canal
- 27,500 Number of persons who died in the building the Canal
- 850,000 Number of ships that have passed through the Canal
- $5.3 billion Amount of money it will take to remodel the Canal
- 110 to 135 ft. Increase in width if the locks in the remodeled Canal
Further Information
- Site to watch webcam in real time of ships passing through the canal
- Map of the Panama Canal area
- Excellent article on remodeling the Canal
- History of the Panama Canal
- Excellent article on politics surrounding the Canal
