Panama Canal
The Panama Canal, considered to be one of the
modern seven wonders of the world, is a 48 mile ship canal that
connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and has grown into
one of the most significant passages in the world, for
international trade. The canal was constructed from 1904 to 1914
and it passed some 1000 ships per year in the early days to more
than 14,700 in 2008. It was one of the most difficult and
dangerous engineering projects ever attempted, that would have
an incredible impact on the shipping industry, allowing ships to
cut their travel distance from over 14,000 miles around the
Strait of Magellan or Cape Horn. The idea was first considered
in the early 16th century, and actually attempted by the French
in 1880, but eventually had to be abandoned after 21,900 workers
died from various diseases that included yellow fever,
landslides and malaria. The United States became involved in the
early 20th century, but would lose another 5600 people before
completing the canal in 1914. It now takes about 8 to 10 hours
for a ship to pass through the canal and bring it into either
the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. The longest ship to ever travel
through the canal was the San Juan Prospector, that was an
ore-bulk-oil carrier, 973 feet long and 106 feet across. In the
1930s, authorities realized that there could be a water problem
with the canal's sources, so they constructed a dam, called
Madden, across the Chagres River beyond Gatun Lake; which would
be finished in 1935. The dam would create Madden Lake, which was
later changed to Alajuela Lake, and is now available for another
water source. A new set of locks would be created in 1939, that
would be big enough to allow US warships to pass through, and
continued until the start of WWII, when the project had to be
canceled. When WWII was over, the United States control of the
canal and the Canal Zone would become the center of a dispute
between it and Panama, since they believed that the canal should
be controlled by them. The clash would culminate in 1964, after
locals and US soldiers were killed, so fencing was installed and
military presence increased. Negotiations began in 1974, under
Jimmy Carter, and the Torrijos-Carter Treaty became the results
in 1977, that gave the Panamanians control so long as they could
permanently guarantee the neutrality of the canal. The country
would become the controller completely in 1999, handled by the
Panama Canal Authority.
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