Posted on 31.01.2016, 09.06.2016
People have dreamed since the 16th century to pass with ships from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean without traveled around South America, but this was not possible until 1914, when the Panama Canal was opened. Since then, a ship which leaves from New York to San Francisco no longer have to travel 22,500km, as the Cape Horn route involved, but only 9,500km. Considered one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it cost the lives of 27,500 workers.
It takes 6 to 8 hours to pass through the Panama Canal, which has 77km lenght, and cuts across the Isthmus of Panama. 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, 26m above sea level. The current locks are 33.5m wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in 2016. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, to 14,702 vessels in 2008.
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