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Panama Canal
There is no more universal claim of Panama than the amazing, magnificent and incredible engineering work that connects two great oceans, Atlantic and Pacific. The Panama Canal is one of the best shortcuts in the world, and extends for 80 kilometers from Panama City, the capital of the country, on the Pacific coast, to Colon, in the Atlantic, crossing the continental divide. It is worth seeing this wonder. As impressive as the freighters that pass through their locks are the legions of animals that watch from the edge of the jungle. Two visitor centers offer observation platforms and museums that explain how it was built and expanded. You can also do boat and kayak excursions, even hire a short trip through the big gates. The new expansion of the channel, carried out with Spanish participation and inaugurated in mid-2016, is the new marvel of world engineering -it has cost more than 15,000 million euros-, an added reason to see it for the first time or revisit it.
HISTORY
- The Panama Canal was inaugurated on August 15, 1914. Prior to its opening, the natural passages used between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn, located at the southern tip of Chile.
- During construction, more than 27,000 workers died, mainly from malaria, yellow fever and accidents at work: at least 22,000 lost their lives in the failed French project and more than 5,000 in the works of the United States.
- The steam Ancón was the first ship that crossed the Panama Canal
LOGISTICS
- Panama assumed the administration of the channel at noon on December 31, 1999. The highest normal toll that has been paid to transit the canal is US $ 317,142, on May 7, 2008 by freighter MSC Fabienne
- The average toll rate is around US $ 54,000 Since its opening, the channel has provided a quality transit service to more than 1,000,000 ships. The average time it takes a ship to cross the Canal is 10 hours
- The fastest transit was made by the Hydrofoil Pegasus of the US Navy, in 2 hours and 41 minutes
TOURISM
- The locks of the channel most visited by tourists are the Miraflores locks. The entrance has a cost of 15 dollars per person. Includes sighting of boats crossing the canal and a video screening
- But here between us, if you arrive at the lockers locker, and say you are going to the restaurant, you are given a free entrance ticket. Once up, ask for a beer worth three dollars and you can stay to see all the boats you want. The visual, even, is much better than those who paid the $ 15
FUN FACTS
- The sluice gates weigh 750 tons each When the artificial lake of Gatun was built, an extensive hill of the sector was turned into the Island of Barro Colorado, where the Smithsonian Institute has an installation for the investigation of the tropical flora and fauna that is discussed in a Natural Reserve
- See also Gatun Lake, nature and adventure days in the Panama Canal The material excavated from the Canal would be enough to build a replica of the Great Wall of China from San Francisco to New York
- The size of the locks is such that it could contain 3 Statues of Liberty lying on them. The Panama Canal is about 80 kilometers long from the deep waters of the Atlantic to the deep waters of the Pacific
- It is capable of withstanding an earthquake of 9 degrees on the Richter scale The coast of the Pacific Ocean is approximately 30 centimeters higher than that of the Atlantic at that height
- The record number of ships crossing the canal on the same day is 65 ships. A swimmer crossed the canal on August 23, 1928. Richard Halliburton paid 35 cents to spend, according to his weight
PRESENT
- The expansion of the Panama Canal consists of the construction of two locks complexes of three levels, each with three water re-use tanks per level, one on the Pacific side and one on the Atlantic side
- The new locks of the Panama Canal will allow the passage of between 10 and 12 ships daily, in addition to the 40 daily transits of the current Canal, depending on the mix of ships
