Features of Panama Canal

Here are some key points about the features of Panama Canal:

1. The Lock System: The Panama Canal has three sets of locks – Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores. They help ships move between different water levels by filling and emptying chambers with water. Each lock has two lanes, each about 110 feet wide and 1,000 feet long.
2. Man-made Lakes: The canal has big lakes made by people. The biggest one is Gatun Lake, created by blocking the Chagres River. It’s the largest man-made lake globally and provides water for the canal’s locks to work.
3. The Culebra Cut: This is a 7-mile-long part of the canal that goes through a mountain range. It was hard to build because of the rocky ground and landslides. They moved a huge amount of earth to make it, one of the biggest earth-moving projects ever.
4. The Bridge of the Americas: This bridge is important for the Pan-American Highway and goes over the Pacific entrance to the canal. It’s tall enough for ships to go under. It’s not just a road; it also gives a great view of ships passing through the canal.
5. Tolls System: The canal charges ships to use it, based on their size, type, and what they’re carrying. This brings in a lot of money for Panama, making up a big part of its economy. In 2019, the tolls made $2.9 billion.
6. Expansion Project: In 2016, they finished adding a third set of locks to let bigger ships, called New Panamax vessels, through. This made the canal handle twice as much and brought more money to Panama and other countries using it.

Panama Canal is located in the heart of Central America. This 82-kilometer waterway connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It provides an important link for international trade and travel.

In this article, we are going to learn about the Panama Canal, from its construction to its impact on the world today.