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Stew Gitlin | profile | all galleries >> Route of the Maya >> Panama and the Panama Canal >> The Panama Canal tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Panama City | The Panama Canal | The Embera Indians

The Panama Canal

The 48 mile-long (77 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn.

The canal makes the trip from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S. much shorter than the route taken around the tip of South America prior to 1914. Though traffic continues to increase through the canal, many oil supertankers and military battleships and aircraft carriers can not fit through the canal. There's even a class of ships known as "Panamax," those built to the maximum capacity of the Panama canal and its locks. These ships can carry up to 5,000 containers on board.

It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic). Ships passing through the canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean actually move from the northwest to the southeast, due to the east-west orientation of the Isthmus of Panama.

Panama Canal Expansion In September, 2007 work began on a $5.2 billion project to expand the Panama Canal. Expected to be complete in 2014, the Panama Canal expansion project will allow ships double the size of current Panamax to pass through the canal, dramatically increasing the amount of goods that can pass through the canal.

As part of this trip, we made a partial transit of the Canal from Gamboa, through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks, to Panama City and the Caribbean Sea.
Panama Canal Map
Panama Canal Map
 This is a Picture of a Picture of a Large 'Panamax' Ship at the Miraflores Locks
This is a Picture of a Picture of a Large 'Panamax' Ship at the Miraflores Locks
The Miraflores Locks
The Miraflores Locks
g3/28/417028/3/124709635.KrFRnvyx.jpg
g3/28/417028/3/124709636.ZrqJWLWe.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709637.ck0QVWeG.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709638.iwOe0fUi.jpg  The Electric Locomotives Used to Pull the Large Ships Through the Canal.
The Electric Locomotives Used to Pull the Large Ships Through the Canal.
 The Bridge of the Americas
The Bridge of the Americas
The Centennial Bridge in the Background, a Large Ship in the Pedro Miguel Locks, and the Miraflores Locks in the Foreground.
The Centennial Bridge in the Background, a Large Ship in the Pedro Miguel Locks, and the Miraflores Locks in the Foreground.
g3/28/417028/3/124709643.e2bKGSUv.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709645.N6bFzuyh.jpg
One of the Large 'Panamax' Ships
One of the Large 'Panamax' Ships
g3/28/417028/3/124709648.44MyNvUN.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709650.wzpouoQk.jpg  The New Centennial Bridge
The New Centennial Bridge
g3/28/417028/3/124709654.a8As4Rpb.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709656.QexbTMBL.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709658.KceLdPFa.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709660.4HrKBpr3.jpg
g3/28/417028/3/124709662.7W7UE3V4.jpg g3/28/417028/3/124709664.GLozaTrz.jpg  Construction of the New BioDiversity Museum
Construction of the New BioDiversity Museum
 Panama City Skyline
Panama City Skyline
 Ships Waiting Their Turn to Enter the Canal.
Ships Waiting Their Turn to Enter the Canal.