11 Facts about the Panama Canal

March 1st, 2006 | Jeff Boulter | General

1. The canal is not just a “path” of water bewteen the two oceans. There are a series of 6 locks in two parallel tracks that raise and lower ships between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

2. The locks had to be built because of the terrain. The highest point is 85 feet above sea level.

3. The canal runs North and South, not East and West.

4. The locks are about 1000 feet long, so ships must be shorter than that to pass through. Many ships are built specifically to fit the Panama Canal. A new canal is being built to accomidate larger ships.

5. Ships do not simply sail through the canal. They idle through while they are guided by electricity-powered “mules” attached to the ship with cables.

6. A ship like ours pays over $200K in cash, well in advance, to enter the canal. You pay the same amount whether you go through from one side to the other other or turn around in the middle.

7. The canal is self-powered. Three dams produce electricity to power the mules, lights and other equipment.

8. There are no pumps on the canals. Valves allow water to pass from the higher elevations to the lower ones by power of gravity. The water accumulates in man-made lakes produced from tremendous amounts of rainfall.

9. The canal was completed in 1913 by the United States after France failed twice at getting it built. We controlled it until 1999.

10. Nine military bases we contructed around the base. They were all vacated by 1999. Many of them are deteriorating.

11. “A man, a plan, a canal - Panama” is rather long palindrome. Gen. John Stevens was the man with the plan.