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Learn about the history and geography of the former US concession in Panama that hosted the Panama Canal from 1903 to 1979. Find out how the canal was built, operated, and transferred to Panama.
- When Was The Panama Canal built?
- Teddy Roosevelt and The Panama Canal
- John Stevens
- Panama Canal Dangers
- Panama Canal Completed
- Impact of The Panama Canal
- Sources
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The idea of creating a water passage across the isthmus of Panama to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans dates back to at least the 1500s: After explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboarealized that a narrow strip of land separated the two oceans, King Charles I of Spain tapped his regional governor to survey a route along the Chagres River. The realization...
Following the deliberations of the U.S. Isthmian Canal Commission and a push from President Theodore Roosevelt, the United States purchased the French assets in the canal zone for $40 million in 1902. When a proposed treaty over rights to build in what was then a Colombian territory was rejected, the U.S. threw its military weight behind a Panamani...
A railroad specialist named John Stevens took over as chief engineer in July 1905 and immediately addressed the workforce issues by recruiting West Indian laborers. Stevens ordered new equipment and devised efficient methods to speed up work, such as the use of a swinging boom to lift chunks of railroad track and adjust the train route for carting ...
Goethals focused efforts on Culebra Cut, the clearing of the mountain range between Gamboa and Pedro Miguel. Excavation of the nearly 9-mile stretch became an around-the-clock operation, with up to 6,000 men contributing at any one time. Despite the attention paid to this phase of the project, Culebra Cut was a notorious danger zone, as casualties ...
The grand project began drawing to a close in 1913. Two steam shovels working from opposite directions met in the center of Culebra Cut in May, and a few weeks later, the last spillway at Gatún Dam was closed to allow the lake to swell to its full height. In October, President Woodrow Wilson operated a telegraph at the White Housethat triggered the...
Bolstered by the addition of Madden Dam in 1935, the Panama Canal proved a vital component to expanding global trade routes in the 20th century. The transition to local oversight began with a 1977 treaty signed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panama leader Omar Torrijos, with the Panama Canal Authorityassuming full control on December 31, 1999. ...
Learn about the history of the Panama Canal. Panama Canal Authority. Building the Panama Canal, 1903–1914. U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Key Decision Point Coming for the Panama Canal. Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Learn about the construction and significance of the Panama Canal, a water passage across the isthmus of Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Explore the challenges, achievements and controversies of the project, from the French failure to the U.S. takeover and the transfer to Panama.
Learn about the Canal Zone, a historic region in Panama where the United States controlled the Panama Canal from 1903 to 1979. Find out how the zone was created, operated, and abolished under the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty and its amendments.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, cutting across the Isthmus of Panama. It was built by the US and handed over to Panama in 1999, and has undergone several expansions and improvements since its opening in 1914.
2 days ago · Panama Canal, the lock-type canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow Isthmus of Panama. The length of the Panama Canal from shoreline to shoreline is about 40 miles (65 km). It was completed in 1914 and is one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world.
Dec 29, 2023 · Learn about the Panama Canal Zone, a former U.S. territory that played a crucial role in global trade and Panama's history. Discover the story of the Zonians, the people who lived and worked in the Zone and faced a challenging transition after its return to Panama.
Politically, the canal remained a territory of the United States until 1977, when the Torrijos–Carter Treaties began the process of transferring territorial control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, a process which was finally completed on 31 December 1999.
