Panama Canal

[ edit ] This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints . Please improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page . ( March 2025 ) The US formally took control of the canal property on 4 May 1904, inheriting from the French a depleted workforce and a vast jumble of buildings, infrastructure, and equipment, much of it in poor condition. A US government commission, the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), was established to oversee construction; it was given control of the Panama Canal Zone, over which the United States exercised sovereignty. The commission reported directly to Secretary of War William Howard Taft and was directed to avoid the inefficiency and corruption that had plagued the French 15 years earlier. On 6 May 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed John Findley Wallace , formerly chief engineer and finally general manager of the Illinois Central Railroad , as chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project. Overwhelmed by the disease-plagued country and forced to use often dilapidated French infrastructure and equipment, as well as being frustrated by the overly bureaucratic ICC, Wallace resigned abruptly in June 1905. The ICC brought on a new chairman, Theodore P. Shonts , and a new chief engineer was appointed, John Frank Stevens , a self-educated engineer who had built the Great Northern Railroad who would remain in the position a mere two years. Stevens was not a member of the ICC; he increasingly viewed its bureaucracy as a serious hindrance, bypassing the commission and sending requests and demands directly to the Roosevelt administration in Washington, DC. One of Stevens' first achievements in Panama was in building and rebuilding the housing, cafeterias, hotels, water systems, repair shops, warehouses, and other infrastructure neede

[ edit ] In 1907, Stevens resigned as chief engineer. His replacement, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, was US Army Major George Washington Goethals of the US Army Corps of Engineers . Soon to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and later to general, he was a strong, West Point -trained leader and civil engineer with experience in canals (unlike Stevens). Goethals directed the work in Panama to a successful conclusion in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of 10 June 1916. Goethals divided the engineering and excavation work into three divisions: Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. The Atlantic Division, under Major William L. Sibert , was responsible for construction of the massive breakwater at the entrance to Bahía Limón , the Gatun locks , and their 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (5.6 km) approach channel, and the immense Gatun Dam. The Pacific Division, under Sydney B. Williamson (the only civilian member of this high-level team), was similarly responsible for the Pacific 3-mile (4.8 km) breakwater in Panama Bay , the approach channel to the locks, and the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks and their associated dams and reservoirs. The Central Division, under Major David du Bose Gaillard of the United States Army Corps of Engineers , was assigned one of the most difficult parts: excavating the Culebra Cut through the continental divide to connect Gatun Lake to the Pacific Panama Canal locks . On 10 October 1913, President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, thereby joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal. Alexandre La Valley (a floating crane built by Lobnitz & Company and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to trans

[ edit ] A satellite image showing the location of the Panama Canal: dense jungles are visible in green, topped by clouds

[ edit ] v t e Panama Canal Legend km mi Atlantic Ocean ( Caribbean Sea ) 0 Atlantic Entrance, Manzanillo Bay Breakwater 8.7 5.4 Port of Colón , Cristóbal (city) 8.7 5.4 Port of Colón , Cristóbal (city) Cruise terminal, Manzanillo (MIT) , Free Trade Zone , E.A. Jiménez Airport , Atlantic railway station; freight terminal Atlantic Bridge (2019) 1.9 1.2 Gatún Locks 3 chambers, +26 m (85 ft) Agua Clara Locks (2016) 3 chambers, 3 water saving basins each Gatún Dam , Chagres River , hydroelectric power (22.5 MW), spillway 24.2 15.0 Gatún Lake Gatún River , causeway, Monte Lirio railway bridge 8.5 5.3 Gamboa Chagres River , Madden Dam , Alajuela Lake hydroelectric power (36 MW) 12.6 7.8 Culebra Cut (Gaillard Cut) Continental watershed , summit Centennial Bridge ( Pan-American Highway , via Panama City) 1.4 0.9 Pedro Miguel Locks 1 chamber, +9.5 m (31 ft) Cocolí Locks (2016) 3 chambers, 3 water saving basins each 1.7 1.1 Miraflores Lake 1.7 1.1 Miraflores Locks 2 chambers, +16.5 m (54 ft); spillway 13.2 8.2 Port of Balboa , Balboa (city) 13.2 Port of Balboa , Balboa (city) Diablo (hamlet) , M.A. Gelabert Airport , Corozal railway station; freight terminal total Bridge of the Americas (Arraiján– Panama City ) 77.1 47.9 Pacific Entrance Pacific Ocean ( Gulf of Panama ) Legend Navigable canal (maximum draft: 39.5 feet (12.0 m)) Non-navigable water Dock, industrial or logistical area Water flow direction Panama Canal Railway (passenger station, freight station) City, village or town Pacific-side entrance Administration building While globally the Atlantic Ocean is east of the isthmus and the Pacific is west, the general direction of the canal passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is from northwest to southeast, because of the shape of the isthmus at the point the canal occupies

[ edit ] Point Coordinates (links to map and photo sources) Map this section's coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML GPX (all coordinates) GPX (primary coordinates) GPX (secondary coordinates) Notes Atlantic Entrance 9°23′15″N 79°55′07″W  /  9.38743°N 79.91863°W  / 9.38743; -79.91863  ( Atlantic Entrance ) Gatún Locks 9°16′20″N 79°55′22″W  /  9.27215°N 79.92266°W  / 9.27215; -79.92266  ( Gatún Locks ) Trinidad Turn 9°12′36″N 79°55′27″W  /  9.20996°N 79.92408°W  / 9.20996; -79.92408  ( Trinidad Turn ) In "The Cut" Bohío Turn 9°10′42″N 79°52′00″W  /  9.17831°N 79.86667°W  / 9.17831; -79.86667  ( Bohío Turn ) In "The Cut" Orchid Turn 9°11′03″N 79°50′42″W  /  9.18406°N 79.84513°W  / 9.18406; -79.84513  ( Orchid Turn ) In "The Cut" Frijoles Turn 9°09′33″N 79°48′49″W  /  9.15904°N 79.81362°W  / 9.15904; -79.81362  ( Frijoles Turn ) In "The Cut" Barbacoa Turn 9°07′14″N 79°48′14″W  /  9.12053°N 79.80395°W  / 9.12053; -79.80395  ( Barbacoa Turn ) In "The Cut" Mamei Turn 9°06′42″N 79°46′07″W  /  9.11161°N 79.76856°W  / 9.11161; -79.76856  ( Mamei Turn ) In "The Cut" Gamboa Reach 9°07′04″N 79°43′21″W  /  9.11774°N 79.72257°W  / 9.11774; -79.72257  ( Gamboa Reach ) Bas Obispo Reach 9°05′46″N 79°41′04″W  /  9.09621°N 79.68446°W  / 9.09621; -79.68446  ( Bas Obispo Reach ) Las Cascadas Reach 9°04′36″N 79°40′30″W  /  9.07675°N 79.67492°W  / 9.07675; -79.67492  ( Las Cascadas Reach ) Empire Reach 9°03′40″N 79°39′47″W  /  9.06104°N 79.66309°W  / 9.06104; -79.66309  ( Empire Reach ) Culebra Reach 9°02′51″N 79°39′01″W  /  9.04745°N 79.65017°W  / 9.04745; -79.65017  ( Culebra Reach ) Cucaracha Reach 9°02′01″N 79°38′14″W  /  9.03371°N 79.63736°W  / 9.03371; -79.63736  ( Cucaracha Reach ) Paraiso Reach 9°01′33″N 79

[ edit ] Gatun Lake provides the water used to raise and lower vessels in the Canal, gravity-fed into each set of locks. Created in 1913 by damming the Chagres River , the Gatun Lake is a key part of the Panama Canal, providing the millions of liters of water necessary to operate its locks each time a ship passes through. At time of formation, Gatun Lake was the largest human-made lake in the world.