What is the Panama Canal and Why does it Need Expansion?
The Panama Canal is the system of man made channels, locks, dams, and artificial lakes that connect the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean across the Isthmus of Panama. Since its completion in 1914 the Panama Canal has allowed shipping to cross the fifty mile wide isthmus at the narrowest part of the Americas. The Panama Canal locks allow ships to enter the system from either ocean and to be raised to the level of artificial Lake Gatun, 26 meters above sea level, to transit central Panama before being lowered to sea level on the other side. Construction of the Panama Canal included damming the Chagras River (Gatun Dam) so that a central valley filled with runoff from Panama’s tropical rains thus forming Lake Gatun. In addition a 7.8 mile long, manmade valley was blasted and dug through a ridge in the mountains of central Panama to connect Lake Gatun with the Pacific side of the canal system. This valley is known as the Gaillard Cut or Culebra Cut. The Panama Canal allows ships to avoi
