On 15th August 2014, Panama Canal became 100 years old.
Panama Canal was opened on 15 August 1914 after 23 years of construction work.
A century later it is still considered one of the largest and most successful engineering feats ever built.
It is even considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Panama Canal has remained one of the busiest waterways in the world.
Canal provides a direct shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans which is a vital link in world trade and transport by allowing ships and boats. It saves 8,000 mile route round Cape Horn, the most southern tip of South America.
About Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a 77.1-kilometre ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean.
The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.
There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level.
The current locks are 33.5 metres (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in 2015.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has named the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Importance of Panama Canal
The Panama Canal greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
It enabled ships to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.
It provides shorter, faster, and safer route to the U.S. West Coast and to nations in and around the Pacific Ocean.
It even helped surrounding Latin American countries to become more integrated with the world economy.
It takes between 20 and 30 hours to traverse the canal.
When the work of Panama Canal did begin?
In 1881, France began work on the canal but had to stop because of engineering problems and high mortality due to disease.
United States took over the project in 1904, and took a decade to complete the canal.
It was officially opened on August 15, 1914.
Panama Canal ownership issues?
Panama Canal is considered as one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken.
During construction, ownership of the territory that is now the Panama Canal was first
Colombian, then French, and then American.
The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama.
After the treaty was signed, joint American–Panamanian control was there over the canal.
It was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999.
Currently it is managed and operated by the Panama Canal Authority, a Panamanian government agency.
Traffic in canal
Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened to 14,702 vessels in 2008.
By 2008, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal. In 2013, 13,660 vessels passed through this canal.
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