Panama Canal facts for kids

Map of old Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a waterway (a canal) in the country of Panama in Central America, that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Because of the way Panama twists, the entrance to the Pacific Ocean is farther east than the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. This is the opposite of what one would expect.

The Panama Canal is 77 km (48 miles) long and cuts across the Isthmus of Panama. At each end it uses three pairs of locks for lifting and lowering ships on different water levels. This saves ships 15,000 km (10,000 miles) compared to going around South America. Each year, about 14,000 ships come through the canal. By 2002, around 800,000 ships came through. The biggest ships that can go through the Panama Canal are called Panamax. New locks opened in 2016 to allow ships more than twice as big, called New Panamax.

The French people tried building it in 1880, but couldn't finish it. It was finally finished in 1914 by the United States who spent ten years and 375 million dollars building it. It is such an amazing achievement that it has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Images for kids

Location of Panama between Pacific (bottom) and Caribbean (top), with canal at top center
The panamax ship MSC Poh Lin exiting the Miraflores locks, March 2013
Panama Canal
Satellite image showing location of Panama Canal. Dense jungles are visible in green.
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Excavator at work, in Bas Obispo, 1886
The U.S.'s intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903
The Culebra Cut, or Gaillard Cut, in 1896
The Culebra Cut in 1902
Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913
John Frank Stevens
William C. Gorgas
President Theodore Roosevelt sitting on a steam shovel at Culebra Cut, 1906
Construction work on the Gaillard Cut is shown in this photograph from 1907
George W. Goethals
Spanish laborers working on the Panama Canal in early 1900s
A Marion steam shovel excavating the Panama Canal in 1908
The Panama Canal locks under construction in 1910
SS Ancon passing through the canal on 15 August 1914, the first ship to do so
USS Missouri passes through the canal in 1945. The Iowa-class battleships were designed to be narrow enough to fit through.
Pacific Side Entrance
Miter lock gate at Gatún
Lock gate at Miraflores
[[Roll-on/roll-off
The water that is used to raise and lower vessels in the Canal is fed by gravity from Gatun Lake (pictured above) into each set of locks
Gatun locks showing the "mule" locomotives at work
New Panama Canal expansion project. July 2015
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Canal lock sizes
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