Jay & Nicole's Trip to Panama - Nov. 2006 

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Panama Canal Details:

The Panama Canal is among the great endeavors of mankind that have contributed significantly to progress in the world.  The construction of the Canal stands as an awe-inspiring achievement. The engineering triumph was made possible by an international work force that made the centuries-old dream of uniting the two great oceans a reality.

Since the discovery of the American Pacific Coast here in Panama, mankind had a dream: to make a waterway, connecting both oceans. European kingdoms where interested in transporting gold from South America to the Atlantic Coast through a shorter and safer route. 

In 1534, Charles I of Spain ordered the first survey of a proposed canal route through the Isthmus of Panama. However, wars in Europe and the constant struggle for the control of kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea put the project on hold; more than 300 years passed before construction began. 

In 1848 the California gold rush raised an interest in the US for the project. Various studies made showed that there were only two practical routes for a canal: either through Panama or through Nicaragua. After years of discussions, the Panama route was chosen as the best option.  

The French undertook the project in 1880, after their success with the Suez Canal.  They labored for 20 years but could not finish the job. They were defeated by the mosquito-borne diseases of yellow fever and malaria, which killed 22,000 workers.  The French did advance a great deal by excavating a total of 59.75 million cubic meters of land.  They left behind a hospital, as well as considerable amounts of machinery and housing facilities. 

In 1903, Panama and the US signed a treaty by which the US took over the construction of the shipping canal across the Isthmus of Panama.  The US guaranteed the independence of Panama and agreed upon a 100-year lease of the land.

The building of the Panama Canal involved digging through the Continental Divide, constructing the largest earth dam ever built, building the most massive canal locks ever envisioned, constructing the largest gates ever swung, and solving environmental problems of enormous proportions.

The monumental project was completed in 1914 at a cost of about $387 million.  Today, the Panama Canal is still one of the world's greatest engineering marvels. 
 


The Panama Canal is 50 miles long from deep water in the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific. It was cut through one of the narrowest and lowest saddles from the long, mountainous Isthmus that joins the North and South American continents. The original elevation was 312 feet above sea level where it crosses the Continental Divide in the rugged mountain range.

When a ship enters the canal from the Caribbean (top of the diagram below), it follows this itinerary:

A) It enters from the Caribbean Sea through a dredged channel of 7 km
B) It navigates through 11 km of open water until it reaches the Gatun Locks (raised 85 feet)
C) It enters the Gatun Lake and continues to the mouth of Galliard Cut
D) At the end of the Cut, it reaches the Pedro Miguel Locks (lowered approx. 35 feet)
E) It enters Lake Miraflores for 2 km until reaching Miraflores Locks (lowered approx. 50 feet)
F) The ship runs the last 12 km in dredged channels to the Pacific Ocean 
G) The ship runs the last 8km of dredged channel out into the Pacific Ocean.



The Madden Dam provides a reservoir to maintain the level of the Gatun lake. 

Hydroelectric plants are located at the Gatun and Madden Dams and provide enough electricity for the entire canal operation. 


Of the 23,000 vessels transiting the Canal each year, about 23 percent are titled as PANAMAX.  This name means the vessel is the largest size that can fit in the canal: 305m long and 33.5m wide.

The a new set of larger locks has been approved to handle the bigger container ships that currently cannot traverse through the canal.  Construction will take place over the next 10 years. 

Ships pay according to their weight ; the average price is 30,000. The lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents by Richard Halliburton for swimming through the Canal in 1928.  



 
To lessen the risk of a mishap, ships are cabled to locomotives at the approach of each series of locks and are pulled through them.  There are 80 such locomotives , all made by Mitsubishi, at $ 1 million each.

No force besides gravity is required to adjust the water level between the locks. As the locks operate, the water simply flows into them from the lakes or flows out of them to the sea. 


It requires about 9 hours for an average ship to transit the Canal. Details from the Caribbean: 

The sea-level section of the Canal channel on the Atlantic side is 6 and a half miles long and 500 feet wide and runs through a mangrove swamp that is only a few feet above sea level in most places.

A ship is raised 85 feet (26m) to the level of Gatun Lake via
a continuous flight of three steps at Gatun Locks. There are two parallel sets of locks, one for each direction.   Each lock chamber is 110 (30m) feet wide and 1,000 (300m) feet long.  The walls of the locks are range in thickness from 15 meters at the base to 3 meters at the top. The central wall between the parallel channels at the Gatun locks has a thickness of 18 meters and stands in excess of 24 meters in height. The lock gates are made from steel and measure an average of 2 meters thick, 19.5 meters in length and stand 20 meters in height. . The length of Gatun Locks, including approach walls, is one and a half miles.

Gatun Lake, through which the ships travel for 23 and a half miles from Gatun Locks to the north end of Gaillard Cut, covers an area of 163 square miles and was formed by an earthen dam across the Chagres River adjacent to Gatun Locks.  The two wings of the dam and the spillway have an aggregate length of about one and a half miles. The dam is nearly a half mile wide at the base, sloping to a width of 100 feet at the crest, which is 105 feet above sea level, or 20 feet above the normal level fo Gatun Lake.


The next portion of the channel is about eight miles long and was carved through rock and shale for most of the distance. It was here that the principal excavation was required and here that the devastating slides occurred during construction. Because of its history, its unusual geology and the fact that it slices through the Continental Divide, Gaillard Cut holds special interest. 

The channel in Gaillard Cut was originally excavated to a width of 300 feet. From 1930-1970, the channel was widened to 500 feet to provide a passing section for large ships.  More than any other section of th Canal, Gaillard Cut gives the impression of the waterway as an enormous ditch. 

The Pacific-bound ship enters Pedro Miguel Locks at the south end of Gaillard Cut.  A short distance before the ship reaches Pedro Miguel Locks it passes Gold Hill on the left, the highest promontory along the channel. It rises 587 feet above sea level.

The Pedro Miguel Locks are the smallest set of locks and consists of one flight which raises or lowers ships 9.4 meters (31 feet) in one step to Miraflores Lake.  This lake is a small artificial body of water a mile wide that separates the two sets of Pacific locks.

The transiting ship is lowered the remaining two steps to sea level (16m) at Miraflores Locks, which are slightly over a mile in length. The lock gates at Miraflores are the tallest of any in the system because of the extreme tidal variation in the Pacific Ocean.







 The Panama Canal has had a far-reaching effect on world economic and commercial developments throughout the 20the century. By providing a short-cut, the Canal has influenced world trade patterns, spurred growth in developed countries, and has been a primary impetus for economic expansion in many remote areas of the world. For example, a ship sailing from Boston to Japan can save about 3,000 miles.  A ship sailing from Ecuador to Europe can save about 5,000 miles.

By far, most of the traffic through the Canal moves between the east coast of the United States and the Far East, while movements between Europe and the west coast of the United States and Canada comprise the second major trade route at the waterway. Other regions and countries, however such as the neighboring countries of Central and South America, are proportionately more dependent on this vital artery to promote their economic development and expand trade.

Since the Canal first opened on August 15, 1914, the waterway has provided a quality transit service to more than700,000 vessels. Despite the increase in the number and size of transiting vessels in recent years, the total time spent by a vessel at the Panama Canal still remains at slightly less than 24 hours. This remarkable level of performance can be attributed to the team of professionals trained to provide rapid transit service and to the rimely implementaion of improvements designed to interface with traffic demand. Some $10 million dollars is spent each year on training rograms to prepare Panamanians for the operation and maintenance of the Canal. Today, Panamanians comprise more than 8 persent of the Canal's seasoned work force, and occupy positionss in high-skilled areas vital to the Canal organization.

As with any operation of the magnitude and complexity of the Panama Canal, round-the-clock maintenance is critical to its effectiveness and efficiency.  Regular dredging of the main channel virtually assures a year-round maximum draft of 39.5 feet even during dry periods. 

The Canal also relies on the abundant rainfall of the area to compensate for the 52 million gallons of fresh water consumed during each crossing. 

A ship traveling from New York to San Francisco can save 7'872 miles using the Panama Canal instead of going around South America.


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