View source for Panama Canal

{{Short description|Shipping route across Central America}}
{{For|the canal management|Panama Canal Authority}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Wikidatacoord|Q7350|region:PA_type:waterbody|display=title}}
{{Infobox canal
| name                     = Panama Canal<br/>{{lang|es|Canal de Panamá}}
| image                    = Panama Canal Map EN.png
| image_caption            = A schematic of the Panama Canal, illustrating the sequence of locks and passages
| mapframe                 = yes
| former_names             = 
| original_owner           = 
| engineer                 = [[Armand Reclus]] and Gaston Blanchet (1881–1882), Jules Dingler (1883–1885), Maurice Hutin (1885), [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]] (1885–1886, acting),  Léo Boyer (1886), M. Nouailhac-Pioch (1886, acting), M. Jacquier (1886–1889), Philippe Bunau-Varilla (1894–1903), [[John Findley Wallace]] (1904–1905), [[John Frank Stevens]] (1905–1907), [[George Washington Goethals]] (1907–1914)
| other_engineer           = 
| date_began               = {{start date |1881|1|1|df=y}}
| date_use                 = 
| date_completed           = {{start date |1914|8|15|df=y}}

| date_extended            = {{start date |2016|6|26|df=y}}
| date_closed              =
| date_restored            = 
| length_km                = 82
| len_m                    = 366
| len_note                 = 
| beam_m                   = 49
| original_beam_m          = 28.5
| max_boat_draft           = {{cvt|15.2|m|ft}}
| max_boat_air_draft       = {{cvt|57.91|m|ft}}
| beam_note                = 
| start_point              = [[Caribbean Sea]] (part of [[Atlantic Ocean]])
| original_start           = 
| start_note               = 
| end_point                = [[Pacific Ocean]]
| original_end             = 
| coordinates              = 
| end_note                 = 
| branch                   = 
| branch_of                = 
| connects_to              = Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean
| locks                    = 3 locks up, 3 down per transit; all three lanes
| original_num_locks       = 
| lock_note                = 3 lanes of locks
| elev                     = 
| elev_note                = 
| status                   = Opened in 1914; expansion opened 26 June 2016
| navigation_authority     = [[Panama Canal Authority]]
}}
[[File:Pm-map.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Location of [[Panama]] between the [[Pacific Ocean]] (bottom) and the [[Caribbean Sea]] (top), with the canal at top center]]

The '''Panama Canal''' ({{langx|es|Canal de Panamá|link=no}}) is an artificial {{convert|82|km|adj=on|abbr=off|sp=us}} waterway in [[Panama]] that connects the [[Caribbean Sea]] with the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It cuts across the narrowest point of the [[Isthmus of Panama]], and is a [[Channel (geography)|conduit]] for maritime trade between the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the Pacific Ocean. [[Lock (water navigation)|Lock]]s at each end lift ships up to [[Gatun Lake]], an artificial [[fresh water]] lake {{convert|26|m|ft|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]], created by damming the [[Chagres River]] and [[Lake Alajuela]] to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal. Locks then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks are {{convert|33.5|m|ft|sp=us}} wide and allow the passage of [[Panamax]] ships. A [[Panama Canal expansion project|third, wider lane of locks]] was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The new locks allow for the transit of larger, [[New Panamax|Neopanamax]] ships. An average of {{convert|52|e6usgal|L|abbr=off|order=flip}} of fresh water is used in a single passing of a ship. The canal is threatened by low water levels during droughts.<ref name="p371">{{cite web | last=Hibbert | first=Cynthia McCormick | title=Drought and low water levels could slow global trade at the Panama Canal | website=Northeastern Global News | date=2025-09-24 | url=https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/09/24/is-the-panama-canal-drying-up/ | access-date=2025-12-16}}</ref><ref name="i847">{{cite | last=Garcia | first=Karina | title=The Panama Canal's other conflict: Water security for the population and the global economy | publisher=The Conversation | date=2025-03-31 | doi=10.64628/aai.avkrkv6rw | page=}}</ref>
  
The Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous route around the southernmost tip of [[South America]] via the [[Drake Passage]], the [[Strait of Magellan]] or the [[Beagle Channel]]. Its construction was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. Since its inauguration on 15 August 1914, the canal has succeeded in shortening maritime communication in time and distance, invigorating maritime and economic transportation by providing a short and relatively inexpensive transit route between the two oceans, decisively influencing global trade patterns, boosting economic growth in developed and developing countries, as well as providing the basic impetus for economic expansion in many remote regions of the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/esp/general/asi-es-el-canal.html|title=Así es el Canal |access-date= 2 August 2009|author=Autoridad del Canal de Panamá |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090506173556/http://www.pancanal.com/esp/general/asi-es-el-canal.html|archive-date= 6 May 2009|quotation= Buques de todo el mundo transitan a diario a través del canal de Panamá. Entre 13 mil y 14 mil barcos utilizan, cada año, el canal. De hecho, las actividades de transporte comercial a través del canal representan alrededor del 5&nbsp;% de comercio mundial.}}</ref>

[[Colombia]], [[France]], and later the [[United States]] controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped in 1889 because of a lack of investors' confidence due to engineering problems and a high worker [[mortality rate]]. The US took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal in 1914. The US continued to control the canal and the surrounding [[Panama Canal Zone]] until the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]] provided for its handover to Panama in 1977. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the Panamanian government took control in 1999. It is now managed and operated by the Panamanian government-owned [[Panama Canal Authority]]. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million [[Measurement ton|Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons]]. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal. In that year, the top five users of the canal were the United States, China, Chile, Japan, and South Korea.<ref name="canalusage">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/routes.html |title=Panama Canal Traffic – Years 1914–2010 |website=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=25 January 2011 |archive-date=30 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230042623/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/routes.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Autoridad del Canal de Panamá – Oficina de investigación y análisis de mercado |date=15 October 2012 |title=Jerarquización de países por flujo de carga a través del canal de Panamá – Año fiscal 2012 (Toneladas largas) |url=https://micanaldepanama.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2012-tabla13.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201221116/https://micanaldepanama.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2012-tabla13.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=6 June 2013 }}</ref> In 2017, it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two outer locks. The [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] has ranked the Panama Canal one of the [[Wonders of the World#American Society of Civil Engineers|Seven Wonders of the Modern World]].<ref name="ASCE">{{cite web |url=http://www.asce.org/content.aspx?id=2147487305 |title=Seven Wonders |website=American Society of Civil Engineers |access-date=21 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802060056/http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=2147487305 |archive-date=2 August 2010 }}</ref>

==History==
{{Main| History of the Panama Canal}}

===Early proposals in Panama===

The idea of the Panama Canal dates back to 1513, when the Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] (c.1475-1519) first crossed the [[Isthmus of Panama]]. He wrote in his journal the possibility of a canal but did not take action.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Otfinoski |first=Steven |title=Vasco Nunez de Balboa: Explorer of the Pacific |date=2005 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-1609-8 |location=New York |pages=70 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Verdereau |first=Adolphus Eustace |title=A Lecture on the Inter-ocean Panama Canal: Retrospect and Comparison Between the French and American Control ... |date=1909 |publisher=Isthmian printing office |location=Panama |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref> European powers soon noticed the possibility of digging a water passage between the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] Oceans across this narrow land bridge between North and South America. The earliest proposal dates to 1534, when the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] ordered a survey for a route through the Americas in order to ease the voyage for ships traveling between Spain and Peru.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=A History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=15 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html }}; Chapter 3, ''[http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html Some Early Canal Plans] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102032703/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html |date=2 January 2015 }}''</ref> In 1668, the English physician and philosopher Sir [[Thomas Browne]] specifically proposed the [[Isthmus of Panama]] as the most convenient place for such a canal.<ref>{{cite book |section=Book 6, chapter 8 |title=On the River Nile |edition=4th |year=1668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |last1=Browne |first1=Sir Thomas |author-link=Thomas Browne |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119062425/https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first attempt to make the isthmus part of a trade route was the ill-fated [[Darien scheme]], launched by the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] (1698–1700), which was abandoned because of the inhospitable conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm |title=Darien Expedition |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719173435/http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1811, the German naturalist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] published an essay on the geography of the Spanish colonies in Central America ([https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/85270#page/8/mode/1up ''Essai politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne'']; translated into English as: [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/85282#page/12/mode/1up ''Political essay on the kingdom of New Spain containing researches relative to the geography of Mexico'']). In the essay, he considered five possible routes for a canal across Central America, including Panama, but concluded that the most promising location was across [[History of the Nicaragua Canal|Nicaragua]], traversing [[Lake Nicaragua]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=28–30}} His recommendations influenced the British to attempt a canal across Nicaragua in 1843. Although this attempt in the end came to nothing, it resulted in the [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]] (1850) between the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]], in which the two nations bound each other to joint control of any canal built in Nicaragua or (by implication) anywhere in Central America.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|p=38}}

[[File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Isthmus of Panama Showing The Proposed Panama Canal and the Railway . . . , Published 1885.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|An 1885 map showing the Railway and the proposed Panama Canal route]] In 1846, the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]], negotiated between the US and [[Republic of New Granada|New Granada]] (the predecessor of [[Colombia]]), granted the United States transit rights and the right to intervene militarily in the isthmus.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McPherson |first=Alan |title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Interventions in Latin America: [2 volumes] |date=2013-07-08 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59884-260-9 |location=New York |pages=498 |language=en}}</ref> In 1848, the [[California Gold Rush|discovery of gold in California]] created a demand for a crossing of Panama as a practical route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.<ref name=":1" /> This demand was exploited by American businessman [[William Henry Aspinwall]], who ran steamship legs from New York City to Panama, and from Panama to California, with an overland portage through Panama. This route was soon exploited by other businessmen, such as [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Stiles |first=T. J. |title=The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt |date=2009 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41542-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~dj114/SS_Central_America.pdf |title=COLUMBUS-AMERICA DISCOVERY GROUP and the SS CENTRAL AMERICA |last= |first= |date= |website=columbia.edu |publisher= |access-date=10 November 2024 |quote=}}</ref> Between 1850 and 1855, a syndicate founded by Aspinwall built a railroad (now the [[Panama Canal Railway]]) from [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] on the [[Caribbean Sea]] to [[Panama City]]. The project cost US$8,000,000 (six times the estimated cost) and the lives of between 6,000 and 12,000 of construction workers who succumbed to tropical diseases. The railroad soon became immensely profitable for its owners.{{sfn |McCullough|1977|pp=35–37}}

In 1870, US President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] established an Interoceanic Canal Commission, which included Chief of Engineers [[Andrew A. Humphreys|Brigadier General Andrew A Humphreys]] as its members.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=James W. |title=The Engineer |date=2000 |publisher=U.S. Army Engineer Center |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref> It commissioned several naval officers, including Commander [[Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.]], to investigate the possible routes suggested by Humboldt for a canal across Central America. The commission decided in favour of Nicaragua, establishing this as the preferred route amongst American policy-makers.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=19–22, 40–44, 59}}

===French construction attempts, 1881–1899===
[[File:Ferdinand de Lesseps by Nadar.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], the French originator of the [[Suez Canal]] and the Panama Canal]]

The French diplomat and entrepreneur [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]] and engineer [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]] were the driving forces behind French attempts to construct the Panama Canal (1881–1889). De Lesseps had made his reputation by successfully constructing the [[Suez Canal]] (1859–1869), a route that had soon proved its value in international commerce.{{sfn |McCullough|1977|pp=49–55, 57}} After this success, he actively sought new projects. In 1875, de Lesseps was approached by the Société Civile Internationale du Canal Interocéanique par l'isthme du Darien (also known as the "Türr Syndicate"), a syndicate formed to promote the building of an interoceanic canal across [[Panama]]. Its directors were Hungarian freedom fighter [[István Türr]], financier [[Jacques de Reinach]] and Türr's brother-in-law Lt. [[Lucien Bonaparte-Wyse]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA252|title=Popular Science|first=Bonnier|last=Corporation|date=5 July 1902|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|via=Google Books}}</ref>{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=60–61}} Between 1876 and 1878, Bonaparte-Wyse and [[Armand Reclus]] investigated several potential routes across the isthmus of Panama. Bonaparte-Wyse rode by horseback to [[Bogotá]], where he obtained a concession from the Colombian government to build a canal across Panama (20 March 1878). The agreement, known as the Wyse Concession, was valid for 99 years and allowed the company to dig a canal and exploit it.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=61–63}}

[[File:Panama-Canal 1880.JPG|thumb|right|Part de Fondateur of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, issued 29 November 1880]] In May 1879, de Lesseps convened an international congress in Paris to examine the possibilities of a ship canal across Central America. Among the 136 delegates of 26 countries, only 42 were engineers, with the remainder being speculators, politicians, and friends of de Lesseps, who used the congress to promote fundraising for his preferred scheme, which was to build a sea-level canal across Panama, similar in manner to the Suez Canal. De Lesseps won the approval of a majority of the delegates for his plan despite reservations expressed by some who preferred a canal in Nicaragua or who emphasized the likely engineering difficulties and health risks. Following the congress, de Lesseps organized a company to construct the canal (the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama). The company bought the Wyse Concession from the Türr Syndicate and raised considerable funds from small [[French Third Republic|French]] investors on the basis of the huge profits generated by the Suez Canal.{{sfn|McCullough|1977 |p=125}}

Construction of the canal began on 1 January 1881, with digging at [[Culebra Cut|Culebra]] beginning on 22 January.<ref name=earthinfo2>[http://www.cet.edu/earthinfo/camerica/panama/PCtopic2.html ''Pre-Canal History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219092527/http://www.cet.edu/earthinfo/camerica/panama/PCtopic2.html |date=19 December 2007 }}, from Global Perspectives</ref> A large labor force was assembled, numbering about 40,000 in 1888 (nine-tenths of whom were [[French Caribbean|afro-Caribbean]] workers from the [[West Indies]]). Although the project attracted good, well-paid French engineers, retaining them was difficult due to disease. The death toll from 1881 to 1889 was estimated at over 22,000, of whom as many as 5,000 were French citizens.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=131–180}}

From the beginning, the French canal project faced difficulties. Although the Panama Canal needed to be only 40 percent as long as the Suez Canal, it was much more of an engineering challenge because of the combination of tropical rain forests, debilitating climate, the need for canal locks, and the lack of any ancient route to follow. Beginning with [[Armand Reclus]] in 1882, a series of principal engineers resigned in discouragement. The workers were unprepared for the conditions of the rainy season, during which the [[Chagres River]], where the canal started, became a raging torrent, rising up to {{cvt|10|m|ft}}. Workers had to continually widen the main cut through the mountain at Culebra and reduce the angles of the slopes to minimize landslides into the canal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rocco |first=Fiammetta |title=The Miraculous Fever-Tree |year=2003 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-00-653235-7 |page=192 }}</ref> The dense jungle was alive with venomous snakes, insects, and spiders, but the worst challenges were [[yellow fever]], [[malaria]], and other tropical diseases, which killed thousands of workers; by 1884, the death rate was over 200 per month.{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|pages=201–204}} Public health measures were ineffective because the role of the mosquito as a [[Vector (epidemiology)|disease vector]] was then unknown. Conditions were downplayed in France to avoid recruitment problems, but the high mortality rate made it difficult to maintain an experienced workforce.

In France, de Lesseps kept the investment and supply of workers flowing long after it was obvious that the targets were not being met, but eventually, the money ran out. The French effort went bankrupt in 1889 after reportedly spending US$287,000,000 {{USDCY|287000000|1889}}; an estimated 22,000 men died from disease and accidents, and the savings of 800,000 investors were lost.<ref name="French">{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |chapter=The French Failure |title=America's Triumph in Panama |first=Ralph E. |last=Avery |publisher=L.W. Walter Company |location=Chicago, IL |year=1913 |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728050134/http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|p=262}} Work was suspended on 15 May, and in the ensuing scandal, known as the [[Panama scandals|Panama affair]], some of those deemed responsible were prosecuted, including [[Gustave Eiffel]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=224}} De Lesseps and his son Charles were found guilty of misappropriation of funds and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. This sentence was later overturned, and the father, at age 88, was never imprisoned.<ref name="French" />

In 1894, a second French company, the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, was created to take over the project. A minimal workforce of a few thousand people was employed primarily to comply with the terms of the Colombian Panama Canal concession, to run the [[Panama Railroad]], and to maintain the existing excavation and equipment in salable condition. The company sought a buyer for these assets, with an asking price of US$109,000,000 {{USDCY|109000000|1894}}. In the meantime, they continued with enough activity to maintain their franchise. Two lobbyists would become particularly active in later negotiations to sell the interests of the Compagnie Nouvelle. The American lawyer [[William Nelson Cromwell]] began looking after the interests of the company in 1894, after first acting for the related [[Panama Railroad]]. He would become deeply involved as a lobbyist in the American decisions to continue the canal in Panama, and to support Panamanian independence.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=272–276}} The other was [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], who, as one of the major subcontractors to the first French company, had been compelled by the receivers to take shares in the Compagnie Nouvelle, and was then named director of engineering in the Compagnie Nouvelle.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=276–282}}

=== United States acquisition ===

In 1897–1899, US President [[William McKinley]] (1897–1901) tasked two commissions headed by Admiral [[John Grimes Walker]] to recommend the best route for a canal across Central America. Although the first commission had been tasked only to consider routes across [[Nicaragua Canal|Nicaragua]], [[William Nelson Cromwell]] successfully lobbied the Government to broaden the terms of reference to also consider the Panamanian isthmus. The commission issued a confidential preliminary report on 21 November 1901, shortly after [[Theodore Roosevelt]] had become president following the assassination of McKinley. The preliminary report favored the Nicaragua route on pricing grounds; although the commissioners noted the technical advantages of the Panama route, they considered its informally quoted price of $109 million to be excessive. The report was leaked to [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], who during an emergency shareholders' meeting of the Compagnie Nouvelle amended the price to a formal offer of $40 million, the estimated sale value of the existing Panama assets acceptable to the commissioners.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=265-266, 292-294}} On 10 December, [[George S. Morison (engineer)|George S. Morison]], the most eminent engineer on the commission, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt giving the technical reasons for preferring the Panama route. In January 1902, Roosevelt called the members of the commission into his office individually and asked them to give their own personal evaluations of the best route. Roosevelt then held a closed meeting with the entire commission, where he made it clear that he wanted the offer to take over the Panama route from the Compagnie Nouvelle to be accepted. In late January, the commission issued a final report, unanimously recommending Panama.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=265-268, 326-328}}

[[File:Theodore Roosevelt by the Pach Bros.jpg|thumb|left|upright|United States President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1901–1909), the driving force behind US construction of the Panama Canal.]] The proposal to purchase the French rights to Panama faced considerable opposition in Congress, since the Nicaragua proposal was preferred by many. The Nicaragua route was championed by Senator [[John T. Morgan]], who grilled members of the Walker Commission on their reasons for recommending Panama. Nonetheless, the proposal to purchase the French rights and property in Panama for $40 million was eventually approved by both Houses of Congress, championed by Senator [[Mark Hanna]]. He was supported by the known backing of President Roosevelt for the proposal, and by the lobbying efforts of Cromwell and Bunau-Varilla. In June 1902, the US Senate voted in favor of the [[Spooner Act]] to pursue the Panamanian option, provided the necessary rights could be obtained.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=305–328}}

On 22 January 1903, the [[Hay–Herrán Treaty]] was signed by [[United States Secretary of State]] [[John M. Hay]] and Colombian [[Chargé d'affaires|Chargé]] [[Tomás Herrán]]. For $10 million and an annual payment, it would have granted the United States a renewable [[lease]] in perpetuity from Colombia on the land proposed for the canal.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 November 1903 |title=Hay-Herrán Treaty |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214090737/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 |access-date=24 October 2010 |publisher=U-S-history.com }}</ref> The treaty was ratified by the US Senate on 14 March 1903, but the [[Senate of Colombia]] unanimously rejected the treaty since it had become significantly unpopular in Bogotá due to concerns over insufficient compensation, threat to sovereignty, and perpetuity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hay-herran-treaty-1903|title=Hay-Herrán Treaty (1903) &#124; Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

[[File:Panama canal cartoon 1903.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The US's intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]] in 1903.]] Roosevelt changed tactics, based in part on the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]] of 1846, and actively supported the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]]. Shortly after recognizing Panama, he signed a treaty with the new Panamanian government under terms similar to the Hay–Herrán Treaty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Livingstone |first1=Grace |title=America's Backyard: The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror |date=2009 |publisher=Zed |location=London |isbn=978-1-84813-214-6 |page=13 }}</ref>

On 2 November 1903, US warships blocked sea lanes against possible Colombian troop movements en route to put down the Panama rebellion. Panama declared independence on 3 November 1903. The United States quickly recognized the new nation.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=361–386}} This happened so quickly that by the time the Colombian government in [[Bogotá]] launched a response to the Panamanian uprising US troops had already entered the rebelling province. The Colombian troops dispatched to Panama were hastily assembled conscripts with little training. While these conscripts may have been able to defeat the Panamanian rebels, they would not have been able to defeat the US army troops that were supporting the Panamanian rebels. An army of conscripts was the best response the Colombians could muster, as Colombia was recovering from a civil war between Liberals and Conservatives from October 1899, to November 1902, known as the "[[Thousand Days' War|Thousand Days War]]". The US was fully aware of these conditions and even incorporated them into the planning of the Panama intervention as the US acted as an arbitrator between the two sides. The peace treaty that ended the "Thousand Days War" was signed on the [[USS Wisconsin (BB-9)|USS ''Wisconsin'']] on 21 November 1902. While in port, the US also brought engineering teams to Panama with the peace delegation to begin planning the canal's construction before the US had even gained the rights to build the canal. All these factors would result in the Colombians being unable to put down the Panamanian rebellion and expel the United States troops occupying what today is the independent nation of Panama.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meade |first=Teresa A. |author-link=Teresa Meade |title=History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-77248-5 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=128–130}}</ref>

On 6 November 1903, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, as Panama's ambassador to the United States, signed the [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]], granting rights to the United States to build and administer the Panama Canal Zone and its defenses. This treaty gave the US some rights to the canal "in perpetuity", but in article 22 limited other rights to a lease period of 99 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |title=Avalon Project{{snd}}Convention for the Construction of a Ship Canal (Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty), 18 November 1903 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=4 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104144736/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost immediately, the treaty was condemned by many Panamanians as an infringement on their country's new national sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web |title=07 September 1977: Panama to control canal |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print |publisher=History.com |year=2010 |access-date=4 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410075709/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print |archive-date=10 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=Vaughan |title=International Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92 |access-date=4 April 2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=66 |isbn=978-0-19-150907-0 |date=28 September 2007 |archive-date=23 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323192553/https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92 |url-status=live }}</ref> This would later become a contentious diplomatic issue among Colombia, Panama, and the United States.
[[File:Go Away Little Man Charles Green Bush.jpg|thumb|upright|1903 cartoon: ''"Go Away, Little Man, and Don't Bother Me".'' President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] intimidating [[Colombia]] to acquire the Panama Canal Zone.]]
President Roosevelt famously stated, "I took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal, but to debate me." Several parties in the United States called this an act of war on Colombia: ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the support given by the United States to Bunau-Varilla as an "act of sordid conquest".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delano |first=Anthony |date=9 November 2016 |title=America's devious dream: Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-devious-dream-roosevelt-and-the-panama-canal/ |access-date=6 March 2024 |website=HistoryExtra |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426064237/https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-devious-dream-roosevelt-and-the-panama-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colby |first=Gerard |date=1 January 2020 |title=William S. Culbertson and The Search for The Geopolitical Imperium |url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1256 |journal=Graduate College Dissertations and Theses }}</ref> The ''[[New York Post|New York Evening Post]]'' called it a "vulgar and mercenary venture".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huffman |first=Alan |date=15 August 2014 |title=Panama Canal's 48 Miles To An 'American Century' |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/panama-canal-anniversary-2014-100-years-ago-today-navigation-project-launched-1644698 |access-date=6 March 2024 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092714/https://www.ibtimes.com/panama-canal-anniversary-2014-100-years-ago-today-navigation-project-launched-1644698 |url-status=live }}</ref> The US maneuvers are often cited as the classic example of US [[gunboat diplomacy]] in Latin America, and the best illustration of what Roosevelt meant by the old African adage, "Speak softly and carry a big stick [and] you will go far."<ref>{{cite web |last=Hanson |first=David C. |title=Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |publisher=Virginia Western Community College |access-date=21 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201211319/http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 }}</ref>

In 1904, the United States purchased the French equipment and excavations, including the [[Panama Railroad]], for US$40 million, of which $30 million related to excavations completed, primarily in the [[Culebra Cut]], valued at about {{convert|1.00|$/yd3|$/m3|1}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Panama Canal Congressional Hearings 1909 |section=Col. Goethals testimony |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |access-date=26 December 2011 |last1=Committee On Appropriations |first1=United States. Congress. House |year=1913 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110133352/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States also paid the new country of Panama $10 million and a $250,000 payment each following year.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

In 1921, Colombia and the United States entered into the [[Thomson–Urrutia Treaty]], in which the United States agreed to pay Colombia $25 million: $5 million upon ratification, and four $5 million annual payments, and grant Colombia special privileges in the Canal Zone. In return, Colombia recognized Panama as an independent nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |title=U.S. agrees to transfer Panama Canal to Panama |work=History.com |date=9 February 2010 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127014923/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |url-status=live }}</ref>

===United States construction of the Panama canal, 1904–1914===
{{unbalanced section|date=March 2025}}
The US formally took control of the canal property on 4 May 1904, inheriting from the French a depleted workforce and a vast jumble of buildings, infrastructure, and equipment, much of it in poor condition. A US government commission, the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] (ICC), was established to oversee construction; it was given control of the Panama Canal Zone, over which the United States exercised sovereignty.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=273–274}} The commission reported directly to [[Secretary of War]] [[William Howard Taft]] and was directed to avoid the inefficiency and corruption that had plagued the French 15 years earlier.

On 6 May 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed [[John Findley Wallace]], formerly chief engineer and finally general manager of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], as chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project. Overwhelmed by the disease-plagued country and forced to use often dilapidated French infrastructure and equipment,{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=440}} as well as being frustrated by the overly bureaucratic ICC, Wallace resigned abruptly in June 1905.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=457}} The ICC brought on a new chairman, [[Theodore P. Shonts]], and a new chief engineer was appointed, [[John Frank Stevens]], a self-educated engineer who had built the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railroad]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=459–462}} Stevens was not a member of the ICC; he increasingly viewed its bureaucracy as a serious hindrance, bypassing the commission and sending requests and demands directly to the Roosevelt administration in Washington, DC.

One of Stevens' first achievements in Panama was in building and rebuilding the housing, cafeterias, hotels, water systems, repair shops, warehouses, and other infrastructure needed by the thousands of incoming workers. Stevens began the recruitment effort to entice thousands of workers from the United States and other areas to come to the Canal Zone to work. Workers from the Caribbean{{snd}}called "[[Afro-Panamanians]]"{{snd}}came in large numbers and many settled permanently. Stevens tried to provide accommodation in which the workers could work and live in reasonable safety and comfort. He also re-established and enlarged the railway, which was to prove crucial in transporting millions of tons of soil from the cut through the mountains to the dam across the Chagres River.
[[File:Roosevelt and the Canal.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sitting on a Bucyrus steam shovel at Culebra Cut, 1906]]
[[File:Panama Canal under construction, 1907.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Construction work on the [[Gaillard Cut]], 1907]]

Colonel [[William C. Gorgas]] had been appointed chief sanitation officer of the canal construction project in 1904. Gorgas implemented a range of measures to minimize the spread of deadly diseases, particularly [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]], which had recently been shown to be mosquito-borne following the work of Cuban epidemiologist [[Carlos Finlay]], American pathologist [[Walter Reed]] and Scottish physician [[Ronald Ross|Sir Ronald Ross]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=405–426}} Investment was made in extensive sanitation projects, including city water systems, fumigation of buildings, spraying of insect-breeding areas with oil and larvicide, installation of mosquito netting and window screens, and elimination of stagnant water. Despite opposition from the commission (one member said his ideas were barmy), Gorgas persisted, and when Stevens arrived, he threw his weight behind the project. After two years of extensive work, [[Health measures during the construction of the Panama Canal|the mosquito-spread diseases were nearly eliminated]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=466–468}} Despite the monumental effort, about 5,600 workers died from disease and accidents during the US construction phase of the canal.  Of these, the great majority were West Indian laborers, particularly those from Barbados. The number of Americans who died was about 350.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=582–585,610}}

Besides healthier and far better living conditions for the workers, another benefit given to American citizens working on the Canal was a medal for two years of service. Additional bars were added for each two-year period after that. Designed by [[Victor D. Brenner]] and featuring the then-current president they were popularly known as The Roosevelt Medal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pcmc.uflib.ufl.edu/roosevelt-medal-holders/ |title=Roosevelt Medal Holders |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208122142/https://pcmc.uflib.ufl.edu/roosevelt-medal-holders/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A total of 7,189 were ultimately issued, with a few people receiving as many as four bars.<ref>[https://www.czbrats.com/Builders/roosemedals.htm The Panama Canal Service Medal – The "Junk" Medal].</ref>

In 1905, a US engineering panel was commissioned to review the canal design, which had not been finalized. In January 1906 the panel, in a majority of eight to five, recommended to President Roosevelt a sea-level canal,<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Panama Canal |volume=20 |page=670 }}</ref> as had been attempted by the French and temporarily abandoned by them in 1887 for a ten locks system designed by Philippe Bunau-Varilla, and definitively in 1898 for a lock-and-lake canal designed by the Comité Technique of the Compagnie Nouvelle de Canal de Panama as conceptualized by Adolphe Godin de Lépinay in 1879.<ref>[https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ Panama Canal Official Site] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910235443/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ |date=10 September 2021 }}) select chapter "The French Canal Construction" – Retrieved 9 November 2021</ref> But in 1906 Stevens, who had seen the Chagres in full flood, was summoned to Washington; he declared a sea-level approach to be "an entirely untenable proposition". He argued in favor of a canal using a lock system to raise and lower ships from a large reservoir {{Convert|85|ft}} above sea level. This would create both the largest dam (Gatun Dam) and the largest human-made lake (Gatun Lake) in the world at that time. The water to refill the locks would be taken from Gatun Lake by opening and closing enormous gates and valves and letting gravity propel the water from the lake. Gatun Lake would connect to the Pacific through the mountains at the [[Gaillard Cut|Gaillard]] (Culebra) Cut. Unlike Godin de Lépinay with the Congrès International d'Etudes du Canal Interocéanique, Stevens successfully convinced Roosevelt of the necessity and feasibility of this alternative scheme.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=485–489}}

The construction of a canal with locks required the excavation of more than {{convert|17|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=none|sigfig=2}} of material over and above the {{convert|30|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=unit|sigfig=2}} excavated by the French. As quickly as possible, the Americans replaced or upgraded the old, unusable French equipment with new construction equipment that was designed for a much larger and faster scale of work. Over a hundred railroad-mounted [[steam shovel]]s were purchased, 77 from [[Bucyrus-Erie]] and 25 from the [[Marion Power Shovel Company]]. These were joined by enormous steam-powered cranes, giant hydraulic [[rock crusher]]s, [[concrete mixer]]s, [[dredge]]s, and pneumatic power drills, nearly all of which were manufactured by new, extensive machine-building technology developed and built in the United States. The railroad also had to be comprehensively upgraded with heavy-duty, double-tracked rails over most of the line to accommodate new [[rolling stock]]. In many places, the new Gatun Lake flooded over the original rail line, and a new line had to be constructed above Gatun Lake's waterline.

Between 1912 and 1914 there was [[Hay–Pauncefote Treaty#Tolls controversy|a controversy about the tolls for the canal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coker |first=William S. |date=1968 |title=The Panama Canal Tolls Controversy: A Different Perspective |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=555–564 |doi=10.2307/1891013 |jstor=1891013 |issn=0021-8723}}</ref>
{{Panorama
|image   = File:PanamaCanal1913a.jpg
|height  = 170
|caption = Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913
}}

===Goethals replaces Stevens as chief engineer, 1907–1914===
In 1907, Stevens resigned as chief engineer.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=503–508}} His replacement, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, was US Army Major [[George Washington Goethals]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|US Army Corps of Engineers]]. Soon to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and later to general, he was a strong, [[West Point]]-trained leader and civil engineer with experience in canals (unlike Stevens). Goethals directed the work in Panama to a successful conclusion in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of 10 June 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It |url=http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131503/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 |archive-date=8 April 2013 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=1 }}</ref>

Goethals divided the engineering and excavation work into three divisions: Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. The Atlantic Division, under Major [[William L. Sibert]], was responsible for construction of the massive [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] at the entrance to [[Bahía Limón]], the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun locks]], and their {{convert|3+1/2|mi|km|adj=on}} approach channel, and the immense Gatun Dam. The Pacific Division, under Sydney B. Williamson (the only civilian member of this high-level team), was similarly responsible for the Pacific {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=on}} breakwater in [[Panama Bay]], the approach channel to the locks, and the [[Panama Canal Locks|Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks]] and their associated dams and reservoirs.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=540–542}}

The Central Division, under Major [[David du Bose Gaillard]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], was assigned one of the most difficult parts: excavating the Culebra Cut through the continental divide to connect Gatun Lake to the Pacific [[Panama Canal locks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Col. David D.B. Gaillard |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/gaillard.htm |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=www.czbrats.com |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001182904/http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/gaillard.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 10 October 1913, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent a signal from the [[White House]] by [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph]] which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, thereby joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wilson blows up last big barrier in Panama Canal |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=1 |location=Chicago |date=11 October 1913 |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal |access-date=24 November 2015 |archive-date=25 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125183109/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Alexandre La Valley'' (a floating crane built by [[Lobnitz|Lobnitz & Company]] and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal from ocean to ocean. This vessel crossed the canal from the Atlantic in stages during construction, finally reaching the Pacific on 7 January 1914.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=607}} SS ''Cristobal'' (a cargo and passenger ship built by [[Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard|Maryland Steel]], and launched in 1902 as SS ''Tremont'') on 3 August 1914, was the first ship to transit the canal from ocean to ocean.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=609}}

The construction of the canal was completed in 1914, 401 years after Panama was first crossed overland by the Europeans in [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]]'s party of [[conquistador]]es. The United States spent almost $500 million (roughly equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.5|1914|r=1}} billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}){{Inflation-fn|US}} to finish the project. This was by far the largest American engineering project to date. The canal was formally opened on 15 August 1914, with the passage of the [[cargo ship]] {{SS|Ancon|1901|6}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=Read our history: American Canal Construction |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=15 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 caused a [[Economic history of Chile|severe drop in traffic]] along [[Chile]]an ports due to shifts in maritime trade routes,<ref name=millan>{{Citation |last1=John Lawrence |first1=Rector |title=The History of Chile |year=2005 |page=xxvi }}</ref><ref name=Martinicfabril>{{Citation |last1=Martinic Beros |first1=Mateo |author-link1=Mateo Martinic |title=La actividad industrial en Magallanes entre 1890 y mediados del siglo XX |journal=[[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]] |volume=34 |year=2001 |url=http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004 |access-date=4 July 2014 |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702001619/http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Figueroa>{{cite journal |author1=Figueroa, Victor |author2=Gayoso, Jorge |author3=Oyarzun, Edgardo |author4=Planas, Lenia |url=http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |title=Investigación aplicada sobre Geografía Urbana: Un caso práctico en la ciudad de Valdivia |language=es |trans-title=Applied research on Urban Geography: A practical case in the city of Valdivia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025010536/http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |archive-date=25 October 2014 |journal=Gestión Turistica |issue=3 |pages=107–148 |doi=10.4206/gest.tur.1998.n3-06 |publisher=[[UACh]] |year=1998 |issn=0717-1811 |doi-access=free }}</ref> despite the closure of the canal for nearly seven months after a landslide in the Culebra Cut on 18 September 1915.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Century of Progress: A Century of Slides |url=https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |website=The Land Divided, The World United |publisher=Linda Hall Library |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525155334/https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |archive-date=25 May 2022 |location=Kansa City, Missouri }}</ref> The [[Patagonian sheep farming boom|burgeoning sheep farming business in southern Patagonia]] suffered a significant setback by the change in trade routes,<ref name=Economiaovejera>{{Citation |url=http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html |title=La economía ovejera en Magallanes (1876–1930) |work=[[Memoria Chilena]] |language=es |access-date=30 June 2013 |publisher=[[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]] |archive-date=19 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019204659/http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as did the economy of the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Falkland Islands as a 'Strategic Gateway' |journal=The RUSI Journal |last=Dodds |first=Klaus |date=9 December 2012 |volume=157 |pages=8–25 |issue=6 |doi=10.1080/03071847.2012.750882 |s2cid=154575728 }}</ref>

Throughout this time, [[Ernest "Red" Hallen]] was hired by the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] to document the progress of the work.

In 1914, [[steam shovel]]s from the Panama Canal were purchased and put to use in [[Chuquicamata]] copper mine of northern Chile.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mch.cl/reportajes/una-mina-centenaria/ |title=Una mina centenaria |date=6 April 2015 |access-date=2 July 2022 |website=mch.cl |last=Barros M. |first=María Celia |language=Spanish |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702231012/https://www.mch.cl/reportajes/una-mina-centenaria/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px">
MarioModel90 1908.jpg|A Marion [[steam shovel]] excavating the Panama Canal, 1908
Panama Canal Lock Forms.jpeg|The Panama Canal locks under construction, 1910
SS Ancon entering west chamber cph.3b17471u.jpg|The first ship to transit the canal at the formal opening, SS ''Ancon'', passes through on 15 August 1914.
Spanish laborers on Panama Canal in early 1900s.jpg|Spanish laborers working on the Panama Canal in the early 1900s
File:George W. Goethals cph.3a02121.jpg|General [[George Washington Goethals]], who completed the canal
File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Panama Canal and Approaches, Published 1914, New Edition 1915.jpg|Nautical chart of 1915 showing the canal shortly after completion
</gallery>

===US control and handover to Panama, 1914–1999===
{{See also|#Third set of locks project (expansion)}}
[[File:Missouri panama canal.jpg|thumb|upright|{{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, an {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|2}}, passes through the canal on 13 October 1945. The {{cvt|108|ft|2|in|m}} beams of the ''Iowas'' and preceding {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship (1939)|4}} were the largest ever to transit the Canal.]]

By the 1930s, water supply became an issue for the canal, prompting construction of the [[Madden Dam]] across the Chagres River above Gatun Lake. Completed in 1935, the dam created Madden Lake (later [[Lake Alajuela]]), which provides additional water storage for the canal.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Panama Dam to Aid Canal Traffic |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1930 |page=25 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |access-date=27 February 2016 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728094135/https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1939, construction began on a further major improvement: a new set of locks large enough to carry the larger warships that the United States was building at the time and planned to continue building. The work proceeded for several years, and significant excavation was carried out on the new approach channels, but the project was canceled after World War II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm |title=Enlarging the Panama Canal |work=czbrats.com |access-date=7 January 2006 |archive-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405193423/http://czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm |title=Presentation on the Third Locks Project – Panama Canal Zone |work=czimages.com |access-date=7 January 2006 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214222237/http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After World War II, US control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious; relations between Panama and the United States became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians felt that the Zone rightfully belonged to Panama; student protests were met by the fencing-in of the zone and an increased military presence there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Martyrs of 1964 |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Jackson/martyrs/martyrs.htm |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=www.czbrats.com |archive-date=30 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430124237/http://www.czbrats.com/Jackson/martyrs/martyrs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Demands for the United States to hand over the canal to Panama increased after the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956, when the United States used financial and diplomatic pressure to force France and the UK to abandon their attempt to retake control of the [[Suez Canal]], previously nationalized by the [[Nasser]] regime in Egypt. Panamanian unrest culminated in riots on [[Martyrs' Day (Panama)|Martyr's Day]], 9 January 1964, when about 20 Panamanians and 3–5 US soldiers were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MILESTONES: 1953–1960 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425183636/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez |url-status=live }}</ref>

A decade later, in 1974, negotiations toward a settlement began and resulted in the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]. On 7 September 1977, the treaty was signed by President of the United States [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Omar Torrijos]], ''de facto'' leader of Panama. This mobilized the process of granting the Panamanians free control of the canal so long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the canal. The treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on 31 December 1999, and the [[Panama Canal Authority]] (ACP) assumed command of the waterway. The Panama Canal remains one of the chief revenue sources for Panama.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html |title=Here's Why The Panama Canal Expansion Has Everyone Excited |date=11 July 2016 |website=TheHuffingtonPost.com |quote=The Canal previously accounted for about 15 percent of the country's GDP |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928000817/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/node/15014282 |title=A plan to unlock prosperity |date=3 December 2009 |magazine=The Economist |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708071113/http://www.economist.com/node/15014282 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Before this handover, the government of Panama held an international bid to negotiate a 25-year contract for operation of the [[container terminal|container shipping ports]] located at the canal's Atlantic and Pacific outlets. The contract was not affiliated with the ACP or Panama Canal operations and was won by the firm [[Hutchison Whampoa]], a Hong Kong–based shipping interest owned by [[Li Ka-shing]].<ref>{{Cite news |first=Peter |last=Wonacott |date=15 October 1999 |title=Hutchison Unit's Panama Canal Contract Is Targeted by a U.S. Senate Committee |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB93992854168999852 |access-date=12 March 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312081015/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB93992854168999852 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In 2015, Hutchison Whampoa merged with Cheung Kong Group and was renamed [[CK Hutchison Holdings]].

==== Donald Trump comments and reactions ====
On 21 December 2024, then US President-elect [[Donald Trump]] asserted that the United States should retake control of the Panama Canal from Panama, claiming that the rates Panama was charging American ships were "exorbitant" and in violation of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bazail-Eimil |first=Eric |date=21 December 2024 |title=Trump threatens to retake Panama Canal |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/21/trump-panama-canal-00195820 |access-date=22 December 2022 |website=[[POLITICO]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mattingly |first1=Phil |last2=Seger |first2=Andrew |date=2025-01-17 |title=Trump's Panama Canal threats leave country's officials scrambling for answers {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/trump-panama-canal-threats-history-mulino/index.html |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The following day, he claimed that the canal was "falling into the wrong hands", referring to China. Shortly after Trump's comments, Panamanian president [[José Raúl Mulino]] responded, denying that the United States was being unfairly charged or that anyone besides Panama was in full control of the canal, and affirming that the canal was part of the country's "inalienable patrimony".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Michael |last2=Wingrove |first2=Josh |last3=Korte |first3=Gregory |date=22 December 2024 |title=Panama's Leader Takes Up Feud With Trump Over Control of Canal |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/22/panamas-leader-takes-up-feud-with-trump-over-control-of-canal/ |access-date=22 December 2024 |work=[[BNN Bloomberg]]}}</ref>

Though the Hong Kong company [[Hutchison Port Holdings]] does have a concession to operate two ports near the ends of the canal – the Balboa port on the Pacific side and the Cristóbal port on the Atlantic side – neither these ports nor the company control access to the canal.<ref name="Stevenson">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/business/panama-canal-ck-hutchison.html |title=Trump, the Panama Canal and the Hong Kong Firm at the Heart of a Showdown |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author1=Alexandra Stevenson |author2=Keith Bradsher |date=7 February 2025}}</ref> Three other ports near the canal's ends are operated by companies from Taiwan and Singapore, and joint venture from the United States and Panama.<ref name="Stevenson" /> The government of Panama receives dividends from the Hutchinson concession, but the locks and Marine Traffic Control are run independently by the Panama Canal Authority, and the harbor pilots that guide ships are Panamanian.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/03/nx-s1-5282154/former-panama-canal-administrator-weighs-in-on-trumps-ultimatum |title=Former Panama Canal administrator weighs in on Trump's ultimatum |date=3 February 2025 |publisher=[[NPR]] |author1=Courtney Dorning |author2=Ari Shapiro |author3=Alejandra Marquez Janse }}</ref>

On 24 December, a [[Protests against Donald Trump|protest]] was held at the [[Embassy of the United States, Panama City|US Embassy]] in [[Panama City]] over Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal. Protesters referred to him as a "public enemy" of [[Panama]]. On the same day, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America ([[ALBA]]), made up of ten Central and South American countries, denounced Trump's comments and affirmed its support for Panama's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination."<ref>{{cite web |title=Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241224-panamanians-protest-public-enemy-trump-s-canal-threat |website=[[France 24]] |access-date=22 January 2025 |location=[[Panama City]] |date=24 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Panama: Protesters say 'enemy' Trump must leave canal alone |url=https://www.dw.com/en/panama-protesters-say-enemy-trump-must-leave-canal-alone/a-71156004 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=22 January 2025 |date=25 December 2024}}</ref>

In a 7 January 2025 press conference, Trump vowed to gain control of the Panama Canal. He refused to rule out [[Economic warfare|economic]] and [[Military operation|military action]] against Panama to seize control of the canal, to secure what he called US "economic security."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-07 |title=Trump refuses to rule out using military force to take Greenland and Panama Canal |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-military-force-greenland-panama-canal/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Politi |first1=James |last2=Murray |first2=Christine |date=2025-01-07 |title=Donald Trump refuses to rule out force to take Greenland and Panama Canal |url=https://www.ft.com/content/487d7543-3352-413c-9e7f-4eca90e18f6d |access-date=2025-01-07 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> He reiterated his intent to take back control of the canal in his [[Second inauguration of Donald Trump|inaugural address]] on 20 January.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=2025-01-20 |title=Trump inauguration live updates: New president vows to retake Panama Canal, plant flag on Mars |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration-live-updates.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Donald Trump: Panama rejects Trump vow to 'take back' Panama Canal |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2egwzvp080o |website=www.bbc.com|date=20 January 2025 }}</ref>

On 5 February, the [[United States Department of State]] posted on [[Twitter]] that the Panama Canal would no longer be charging United States government vessels to cross.<ref name="Oppmann">{{cite news |title=Rubio walks back State Department's claim of free Panama Canal transit for US government vessels |author1=Patrick Oppmann |author2=Jennifer Hansler |author3=Lucas Lilieholm |author4=Valeria Ordonez |author5=Gerardo Lemos |author6=Caitlin Danaher |publisher=CNN |date=6 February 2025 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/06/americas/panama-canal-state-department-hnk-intl/index.html}}</ref> President Mulino called this an "intolerable" falsehood, and Secretary of State [[Marco Rubio]] (who had departed Panama a few days earlier) had to correct the announcement, saying he "expects" Panama to begin doing so in return for the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]' guarantee of US military protection in the event of an attack on the canal.<ref name="Oppmann" />

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 350
 | image1 = Balboa Port.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] Port on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] side
 | image2 = Colon - Container Port (3169906461).jpg
 | caption2 = [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] Port on the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] side
 
}}
On 5 March 2025, the American investment company [[BlackRock]] announced that a consortium, including also [[Global Infrastructure Partners]] and Terminal Investment Limited, would buy [[CK Hutchison Holdings|CK Hutchison's]] 80% holding in [[Hutchison Port Holdings]], which owns ports at either end of the canal.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Eric Platt |author2=Kaye Wiggins |author3=Chan Ho-Him |author4=Ivan Levingston |title=BlackRock to buy Panama Canal ports after pressure from Donald Trump |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b3a1ea24-72c6-4fad-9de1-e7411048ad31 |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=Financial Times |date=2025-03-05 |location=London}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', the Hong Kong-based Li family felt "under political pressure to exit the ports business"; discussions with BlackRock about the Panama Canal had begun only a few weeks prior, coinciding with the beginning of the Trump administration.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mesa |first1=Jesus |title=BlackRock's $23 Billion Panama Canal Deal: What We Know So Far |url=https://www.newsweek.com/blackrock-panama-canal-deal-what-we-know-2040093 |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=Newsweek |date=2025-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Eavis |first1=Peter |last2=Farrell |first2=Maureen |date=2025-03-04 |title=BlackRock Will Buy Panama Canal Ports from CK Hutchison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/business/blackrock-panama-canal-ports-hutchison.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250304171122/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/business/blackrock-panama-canal-ports-hutchison.html |archive-date=2025-03-04}}</ref>

==Canal==
[[File:Panama.A2003087.1850.250m.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A satellite image showing the location of the Panama Canal: dense jungles are visible in green, topped by clouds]]

===Layout===
{{Panama Canal map}}
[[File:Panama Canal - Pacific Side Entrance.jpg|thumb|Pacific-side entrance]]
[[File:Administration Building, Panama Canal.jpg|thumb|Administration building]]
While globally the Atlantic Ocean is east of the isthmus and the Pacific is west, the general direction of the canal passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is from northwest to southeast, because of the shape of the isthmus at the point the canal occupies. The [[Bridge of the Americas]] ({{langx|es|Puente de las Américas}}) at the Pacific side is about a third of a degree east of the [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] end on the Atlantic side.<ref name="acptraffic">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |title=Panama Canal Traffic{{snd}}Fiscal Years 2002–2004 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201144112/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |archive-date=1 December 2005 }}</ref> Still, in formal nautical communications, the simplified directions "southbound" and "northbound" are used.

The canal consists of [[reservoir|artificial lakes]], several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of [[canal lock|locks]]. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American administration as Madden Lake), acts as a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific is:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |title=Historical Map & Chart Project |access-date=3 September 2007 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905231130/http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |archive-date=5 September 2007 }}</ref>
<!-- These distances are measured as accurately as I can from a 1940 nautical chart of the canal{{snd}}U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey no. 955, May 1940. See the reference above. ~~~~ -->
* From the formal marking line of the Atlantic Entrance, one enters [[Limón Bay]] (Bahía Limón), a large natural harbor. The entrance runs {{cvt|5+1/2|mi|km|order=flip}}. It provides a deepwater port ([[Cristóbal, Colón|Cristóbal]]), with facilities like multimodal cargo exchange (to and from train) and the [[Colón Free Trade Zone]] (a [[free port]]).
* A {{cvt|3.2|km|mi|sigfig=1}} channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side.
* The Gatun Locks, a three-stage flight of locks {{cvt|1+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}} long, lifts ships to the Gatun Lake level, some {{cvt|87|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip}} above sea level.
* Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels {{cvt|15|mi|km|sigfig=2|order=flip}} across the isthmus. It is the summit canal stretch, fed by the Gatun River and emptied by basic lock operations.
* From the lake, the Chagres River, a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Gatun Lake, runs about {{cvt|5+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}}. Here the upper Chagres River feeds the high-level-canal stretch.
* The [[Culebra Cut]] slices {{cvt|7+3/4|mi|km|order=flip}} through the mountain ridge, crosses the [[continental divide]] and passes under the [[Centennial Bridge, Panama|Centennial Bridge]].
* The single-stage Pedro Miguel Lock, which is {{cvt|7/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, is the first part of the descent with a lift of {{cvt|31|ft|m|order=flip}}.
* The artificial [[Miraflores Lake]] {{cvt|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, and {{cvt|54|ft|m|order=flip}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].
* The two-stage [[Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores]] Locks is {{cvt|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, with a total descent of {{cvt|54|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip}} at mid-tide.
* From the Miraflores Locks one reaches [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] harbor, again with multimodal exchange provision (here the railway meets the shipping route again). Nearby is [[Panama City]].
* From this harbor an entrance/exit channel leads to the Pacific Ocean ([[Gulf of Panama]]), {{cvt|8+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}} from the Miraflores Locks, passing under the [[Bridge of the Americas]].

Thus, the total length of the canal is {{cvt|50|mi|km|order=flip}}. In 2017 it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two outer locks.<ref name="ACP">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |title=Annual Report 2017 |website=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2 April 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403001241/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2021 }}</ref>

===Navigation===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Point
! [[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]<br />(links to map and photo sources)<br />{{GeoGroup|section=Layout}}
! Notes
|-
| Atlantic Entrance
| {{Coord|9.38743|N|79.91863|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Atlantic Entrance}} ||
|-
| Gatún Locks
| {{Coord|9.27215|N|79.92266|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Gatún Locks}} ||
|-
| Trinidad Turn
| {{Coord|9.20996|N|79.92408|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Trinidad Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Bohío Turn
| {{Coord|9.17831|N|79.86667|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Bohío Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Orchid Turn
| {{Coord|9.18406|N|79.84513|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Orchid Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Frijoles Turn
| {{Coord|9.15904|N|79.81362|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Frijoles Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Barbacoa Turn
| {{Coord|9.12053|N|79.80395|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Barbacoa Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Mamei Turn
| {{Coord|9.11161|N|79.76856|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Mamei Turn}}
| In "The Cut"
|-
| Gamboa Reach
| {{Coord|9.11774|N|79.72257|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Gamboa Reach}} ||
|-
| Bas Obispo Reach
| {{Coord|9.09621|N|79.68446|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Bas Obispo Reach}} ||
|-
| Las Cascadas Reach
| {{Coord|9.07675|N|79.67492|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Las Cascadas Reach}} ||
|-
| Empire Reach
| {{Coord|9.06104|N|79.66309|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Empire Reach}} ||
|-
| Culebra Reach
| {{Coord|9.04745|N|79.65017|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Culebra Reach}} ||
|-
| Cucaracha Reach
| {{Coord|9.03371|N|79.63736|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Cucaracha Reach}} ||
|-
| Paraiso Reach
| {{Coord|9.02573|N|79.62492|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Paraiso Reach}} ||
|-
| Pedro Miguel Locks
| {{Coord|9.01698|N|79.61281|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Pedro Miguel Locks}} ||
|-
| Miraflores Lake
| {{Coord|9.00741|N|79.60254|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Miraflores Lake}} ||
|-
| Miraflores Locks
| {{Coord|8.99679|N|79.59182|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Miraflores Locks}} ||
|-
| Balboa Reach
| {{Coord|8.97281|N|79.57771|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Balboa Reach}} ||
|-
| Pacific Entrance
| {{Coord|8.88846|N|79.52145|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Pacific Entrance}} ||
|}

===Gatun Lake===
[[File:Gatun Lake.jpg|thumb|[[Gatun Lake]] provides the water used to raise and lower vessels in the Canal, gravity-fed into each set of locks.]]
Created in 1913 by damming the [[Chagres River]], the [[Gatun Lake]] is a key part of the Panama Canal, providing the millions of liters of water necessary to operate its locks each time a ship passes through. At time of formation, Gatun Lake was the largest human-made lake in the world.

===Lock size===
{{Main|Panama Canal locks}}
Because of the importance of the canal to international trade, many ships are built to the maximum size allowed.
[[File:Gatun lock gate.JPG|thumb|upright|The miter [[Lock (water transport)|lock]] gate at Gatún]]

For its first century, the width and length of ships that may transit the canal was limited by the Pedro Miguel Locks; their [[Draft (hull)|draft]] by the canal's minimum {{cvt|41.2|ft|m|order=flip}} depth; and their height by the main span of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa. Ships built to those limits are known as [[Panamax]] vessels. A Panamax cargo ship typically has a [[deadweight tonnage]] (DWT) of 65,000–80,000 [[tonnes|tons]], but its actual cargo is restricted to about 52,500 tons because of the canal's [[Draft (hull)|draft]] restrictions within the canal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf |title=Infosheet No. 30: Modern ship size definitions |date=26 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224003817/http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2012 |work=Lloyd's Register }}</ref> The longest ship ever to transit the canal was the ''San Juan Prospector'' (now ''Marcona Prospector''), an [[ore-bulk-oil carrier]] that is {{cvt|973|ft|m|2|order=flip}} long with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|106|ft|m|2|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) |url=https://www.montclair.edu/prism/ |access-date=1 May 2023 |language=en-US }}</ref>

Initially the locks at Gatun were designed to be {{cvt|28.5|m|ft}} wide. In 1908, the [[United States Navy]] requested that the width be increased to at least {{cvt|36|m|ft}} to allow the passage of large warships. A compromise was made and the locks were built {{cvt|33.53|m|ft}} wide. Each lock is {{cvt|320|m|ft}} long, with the walls ranging in thickness from {{cvt|15|m|ft}} at the base to {{cvt|3|m|ft}} at the top. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun is {{cvt|18|m|ft}} thick and over {{cvt|24|m|ft}} high. The steel lock gates measure an average of {{cvt|2|m|ft}} thick, {{cvt|19.5|m|ft}} wide, and {{cvt|20|m|ft}} high.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm |title=The Panama Canal |access-date=18 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515050735/http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm |archive-date=15 May 2008 }}</ref>

Panama Canal pilots were initially unprepared to handle the flight decks of [[aircraft carrier]]s, which protrude beyond the hull on either side of the ship. When {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}} made her first trip through the Gatun Locks in 1928, the ship knocked over all the concrete lamp posts along the canal.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pride |first=Alfred M. |year=1986 |title=Pilots, Man Your Planes |journal=Proceedings |volume=Supplement |issue=April |pages=28–35 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref>

In 2016, a [[Panama Canal expansion project|decade-long expansion project]] created larger locks, allowing bigger ships to transit through deeper and wider channels.<ref name="AP 2016" /> The allowed dimensions of ships using these locks increased by 25 percent in length, 51 percent in beam, and 26 percent in draft, as defined by [[Panamax#New Panamax|Neopanamax]] metrics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/common/maritime/advisories/2009/a-02-2009.pdf |title=New Panamax publication by ACP |date=November 2006 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506230338/http://www.pancanal.com/common/maritime/advisories/2009/a-02-2009.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2009 }}</ref>

===Tolls===
As with a [[toll road]], vessels transiting the canal must pay tolls. Tolls for the canal are set by the [[Panama Canal Authority]] and are based on vessel type, size, and the type of cargo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |title=Marine Tariff |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-date=2 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

For [[container ship]]s, the toll is assessed on the ship's capacity expressed in [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s (TEUs), one TEU being the size of a standard [[intermodal shipping container]]. Effective 1 April 2016, this toll went from US$74 per loaded container to $60 per TEU capacity plus $30 per loaded container for a potential $90 per TEU when the ship is full. A Panamax container ship may carry up to {{TEU|4,400}}. The toll is calculated differently for passenger ships and for container ships carrying no cargo ("in ballast"). {{As of|2016|04|01|df=US}}, the ballast rate is US$60, down from US$65.60 per TEU.

Passenger vessels in excess of 30,000 tons (PC/UMS) pay a rate based on the number of berths, that is, the number of passengers that can be accommodated in permanent beds. Since 1 April 2016, the per-berth charge is $111 for unoccupied berths and $138 for occupied berths in the Panamax locks. Starting in 2007, this fee has greatly increased the tolls for such ships.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/1010-0000-Rev20160414.pdf|title=Panama Canal Toll Table}}</ref> Passenger vessels of less than 30,000 tons or less than 33 tons per passenger are charged according to the same per-ton schedule as are freighters. Almost all major cruise ships have more than 33 tons per passenger; the rule of thumb for cruise line comfort is generally given as a minimum of 40 tons per passenger.

Most other types of vessels pay a toll per [[tonnage|PC/UMS net ton]], in which one "ton" is actually a volume of {{convert|100|cuft|m3|2}}. (The calculation of [[tonnage]] for commercial vessels is quite complex.) {{As of|2016|alt=As of fiscal year 2016}}, this toll is US$5.25 per ton for the first 10,000 tons, US$5.14 per ton for the next 10,000 tons, and US$5.06 per ton thereafter. As with container ships, reduced tolls are charged for freight ships "in ballast", $4.19, $4.12, $4.05 respectively.

In April 2016, a more complicated toll system was introduced, having the neopanamax locks at a higher rate in some cases, natural gas transport as a new separate category and other changes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maritime Services |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |archive-date=2 August 2017 |access-date=3 June 2014 |website=www.pancanal.com}}</ref> In October 2017, there were modified tolls and categories of tolls in effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |website=[[Panama Canal Authority]] |title=Toll Tariffs Approved By Cabinet Council And Published On The Official Gazette. Implementation: 1 October 2017 (Fy 2018) |access-date=26 September 2017 |archive-date=27 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927052651/http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Small (less than 125&nbsp;ft) vessels up to 583 PC/UMS net tons when carrying passengers or cargo, or up to 735 PC/UMS net tons when in ballast, or up to 1,048 fully loaded displacement tons, are assessed minimum tolls based upon their [[length overall]], according to the following table, from April 2015:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Length of vessel
! Toll
|-
| Up to {{cvt|15.240|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$800
|-
| From {{cvt|15.240|to|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$1,300
|-
| From {{cvt|24.384|to|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000
|-
| More than {{cvt|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$3,200
|-
| INTRA MARITIME CLUSTER – Local Tourism<br />More than {{cvt|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000<br />plus $72/TEU
|}

Morgan Adams of Los Angeles, California, was the first toll received by the US government for the use of the Panama Canal by a pleasure boat. His boat ''Lasata'' passed through the Zone on 14 August 1914. The crossing occurred during a {{convert|6000|mi|km|order=flip|sp=us|sigfig=1|abbr=off|adj=on}} sea voyage from Jacksonville, Florida, to Los Angeles in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 July 2020 |title=The Panama Canal – All You Need to Know |url=https://www.panamacanal.net |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=Panama Passion |language=en-US}}</ref>

The most expensive regular toll for canal passage to date was charged in April 2010, to the cruise ship ''[[Norwegian Pearl]],'' which paid US$375,600.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html |date=<!-- none given --> |access-date=3 August 2012 |title=US Today Travel: Panama Canal Facts |work=USA Today |archive-date=17 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217025241/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 2008 |title=ACP rectifica récord en pago de peaje |publisher=La Prensa |url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html |access-date=8 August 2009 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816182550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html |archive-date=16 August 2009 }}</ref> The average toll is around US$54,000. The highest fee for priority passage charged through the [[Congestion pricing#Panama Canal booking system and auction|Transit Slot Auction System]] was US$220,300, paid in August 2006, by the Panamax [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Erikoussa'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html |title=''Récord en pago de peajes y reserva'' |work=La Prensa |publisher=Ediciones.prensa.com |date=24 April 2007 |access-date=13 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006110958/http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> bypassing a 90-ship queue waiting for the end of maintenance work on the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun Locks]], and avoiding a seven-day delay. The normal fee would have been US$13,430.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |title=''Cupo de subasta del Canal alcanza récord''. La Prensa. Sección Economía & Negocios. Edición 25 August 2006 in Spanish |publisher=Mensual.prensa.com |access-date=13 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803154550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |archive-date=3 August 2009 }}</ref>

The lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents, {{Inflation|US|0.36|1928|r=2|fmt=eq}}, by American [[Richard Halliburton]] who swam the Panama Canal in 1928.<ref>{{cite web |title=About ACP |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127210411/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html |archive-date=27 November 2015 |access-date=8 October 2014 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority}}</ref>

==Issues leading to expansion==
{{Panorama
| image = File:Panama canal panoramic view from the top of Ancon hill.jpg
| height = 220
| alt = Panorama of Pacific entrance of the canal.
| caption = A panorama of the Pacific entrance of the canal. Left: Pacific Ocean and Puente de las Americas (Bridge of Pan-American Highway). Far right: The Miraflores locks. Foreground far right: [[Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport]].
}}

===Efficiency and maintenance===
Opponents to the 1977 [[Torrijos-Carter Treaties]] feared that efficiency and maintenance would suffer following the US withdrawal from the Panama Canal Zone; however, this has been proven not to be the case. In 2004, it was reported that canal operations, capitalizing on practices developed during the American administration, were improving under Panamanian control.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/panama.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913044023/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/panama.html |archive-date=13 September 2012 |title=Panama Rises |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |date=March 2004 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |first=Bob |last=Cullen |access-date=30 April 2012 }}</ref> Canal Waters Time (CWT), the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal, including waiting time, is a key measure of efficiency; in the first decade of the 2000s, it ranged between 20 and 30 hours, according to the ACP. The accident rate has also not changed appreciably in the past decade, varying between 10 and 30 accidents each year from about 14,000 total annual transits.<ref name=annualreport2005>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/common/general/reports/informe-anual-2005.pdf |title=ACP 2005 Annual Report |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |year=2005 |access-date=9 July 2010 |archive-date=6 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506181207/http://www.pancanal.com/common/general/reports/informe-anual-2005.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=metrics2008>{{Cite news |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2008/10/24/pr300.html |title=News{{snd}}PanCanal.com; Panama Canal Authority Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Metrics |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=24 October 2008 |access-date=9 July 2010 |archive-date=7 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507150245/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2008/10/24/pr300.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=metrics2009>{{Cite news |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2009/10/30/pr366.html |title=News{{snd}}PanCanal.com; Panama Canal Authority Announces Fiscal Year 2009 Metrics |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=30 October 2009 |access-date=9 July 2010 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611095934/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2009/10/30/pr366.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An official accident is one in which a formal investigation is requested and conducted.

Increasing volumes of imports from Asia, which previously landed on US West Coast ports, are now passing through the canal to the American East Coast.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.colliers.com/Content/Attachments/Corporate/Services/NewYorkTimes112204.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307191412/http://colliers.com/Content/Attachments/Corporate/Services/NewYorkTimes112204.htm |archive-date=7 March 2005 |title=New York Port Hums Again, With Asian Trade |first=Eric |last=Lipton |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 November 2004 }}</ref> In 2007, the total number of ocean-going transits increased from 11,725 in 2003 to 13,233, falling to 12,855 in 2009. The canal's fiscal year runs from October to September.<ref name="annualreport2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2009/pdf/InformePDFingles.pdf |title=ACP 2009 Annual Report |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |year=2009 |access-date=9 July 2010 |archive-date=3 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103054620/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2009/pdf/InformePDFingles.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This has been coupled with a steady rise in average ship size and in the numbers of Panamax vessels passing through the canal. The total tonnage carried rose from 227.9 million [[tonnage|PC/UMS tons]] in fiscal year 1999 to a then record high of 312.9 million tons in 2007, and falling to 299.1 million tons in 2009.<ref name="acptraffic" /><ref name="annualreport2009" /> Tonnage for fiscal 2013, 2014 and 2015 was 320.6, 326.8 and 340.8 million PC/UMS tons, carried on 13,660, 13,481 and 13,874 transits respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/transit-stats/2015/Table01.pdf |title=Panama Canal Traffic{{snd}}Fiscal Years 2013 through 2015 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719152021/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/transit-stats/2015/Table01.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2016 }}</ref>
[[File:Gatun locks showing the "mule" locomotives at work.jpg|thumb|Gatun locks showing the [[Panama Canal locks#Mules|"mule" locomotives]] at work]]
[[File:Mule in the Miraflores Locks.JPG|thumb|''Mule'' in the Miraflores Locks]]

In the first decade after the transfer to Panamanian control, the [[Panama Canal Authority]] (ACP) invested nearly US$1 billion in widening and modernizing the canal, with the aim of increasing capacity by 20 percent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/panama.canal/stories/operation/ |title=Transfer heavy on symbolism, light on change |first=Steve |last=Nettleton |publisher=CNN Interactive |year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218155312/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/panama.canal/stories/operation/ |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref> The ACP cites a number of major improvements, including the widening and straightening of the Culebra Cut to reduce restrictions on passing vessels, the deepening of the navigational channel in Gatun Lake to reduce draft restrictions and improve water supply, and the deepening of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances to the canal.<ref name="Mercatrade">{{cite web |title=9 Facts about the Panama Canal Expansion – Infographic |url=http://www.mercatrade.com/blog/9-facts-about-the-panama-canal-expansion/ |publisher=Mercatrade |access-date=28 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020083517/http://www.mercatrade.com/blog/9-facts-about-the-panama-canal-expansion/ |archive-date=20 October 2014 }}</ref>

This is supported by new equipment, such as a new drill barge and suction dredger, and an increase of the [[Tugboat|tug boat]] fleet by 20 percent. Improvements have been made to the canal's operating machinery, including an increased and improved tug locomotive fleet, the replacement of more than {{cvt|16|km|0}} of locomotive track, and new lock machinery controls. Improvements have been made to the traffic management system to allow more efficient control over ships in the canal.<ref name="Mercatrade"/>

In December 2010, record-breaking rains caused a 17-hour closure of the canal. This was the first closure since the [[US invasion of Panama]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11953800 |access-date=13 December 2010 |title=Panama Canal reopens after temporary closure |work=BBC News |date=9 December 2010 |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017113304/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11953800 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5izSSaRRPlqlKrEgImAAMgZtqhsdw?docId=N0087151292030740345A |access-date=12 December 2010 |title=The Press Association: Panama flooding displaces thousands |date=12 December 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic }}</ref> The rains also caused an access road to the Centenario Bridge to collapse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2010/12/12/contenido/18225705.asp |access-date=13 December 2010 |title=NOTICIAS PANAMÁ{{snd}}PERIÓDICO LA ESTRELLA ONLINE: Gobierno abrirá parcialmente Puente Centenario; Corredores serán gratis [Al Minuto] |date=13 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216063033/http://www.laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2010/12/12/contenido/18225705.asp |archive-date=16 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=151684 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501024710/http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=151684 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=8 July 2012 |title=Rain Causes Panama Canal Bridge To Collapse |publisher=digtriad.com |date=12 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/12/11/2021s609648.htm |access-date=13 December 2010 |title=Entrance to Panama Canal Bridge Closed due to Rain Damage |date=13 December 2010 |archive-date=15 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215200209/http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/12/11/2021s609648.htm }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/2073-aftermath-of-panama-flooding-hits-transport-and-finances-rain-continues.html |access-date=13 December 2010 |title=Aftermath of Panama flooding hits transport and finances{{snd}}rain continues |date=13 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216060538/http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/2073-aftermath-of-panama-flooding-hits-transport-and-finances-rain-continues.html |archive-date=16 December 2010 }}</ref>

===Capacity===
[[File:Vessel draft restrictions on the Panama Canal by locks.webp|thumb|Vessel draft restrictions on the Panama Canal by locks 2022–2024
{{legend-line|#4A7772 solid 3px|[[Panamax#Neopanamax|Neopanamax]]}}
{{legend-line|#2A3066 dashed 3px|[[Panamax]]}}
]]
The canal handles more vessel traffic than had ever been envisioned by its builders. In 1934, it was estimated that the maximum capacity of the canal would be around 80 million tons per year.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tlpage3.htm |title=The Land Divided{{snd}}A History of the Panama Canal and other Isthmian Canal Projects |first=Gerstle |last=Mack |year=1944 |access-date=7 January 2006 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501112749/http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tlpage3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, canal traffic  reached 340.8 million tons of shipping.

To improve capacity, a number of improvements have been made to maximize the use of the locking system:<ref name="3rdLockProposal">
{{cite web |url=http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf |title=Proposal for the Expansion of the Panama Canal |date=24 April 2006 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721055325/http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |page=45}}
</ref>
* Implementation of an enhanced locks lighting system;
* Construction of two tie-up stations in Culebra Cut;
* Widening Culebra Cut from {{cvt|192|to|218|m|ft|sp=us}};
* Improvements to the tugboat fleet;
* Implementation of the carousel lockage system in Gatun locks;
* Development of an improved vessel scheduling system;
* Deepening of Gatun Lake navigational channels from {{cvt|10.4|to|11.3|m|ft|sp=us}} PLD;
* Modification of all locks structures to allow an additional draft of about {{cvt|1|ft|m|sp=us|order=flip}};
* Deepening of the Pacific and Atlantic entrances;
* Construction of a new spillway in Gatun, for flood control.
These improvements enlarged the capacity from 300 million PCUMS in 2008, to 340 PCUMS in 2012. These improvements were started before the new locks project, and are complementary to it.

===Competition===
[[File:Panama_canal_lock_sizes.png|upright=1.6|thumb|Maximum ship sizes for the Panama and Suez canals, as well as the Strait of Malacca<ref>{{cite web |title=Panama Canal expansion will allow transit of larger ships with greater volumes |date=17 September 2014 |url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=18011 |work=Today in Energy |publisher=[[Energy Information Administration|EIA]] |access-date=25 April 2019 |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190436/https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php%3Fid%3D18011 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
The canal faces increasing competition from other quarters. Because canal tolls have risen as ships have become larger, some critics<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_13/issue_06/business_03.html |title=Shipping industry complains about PanCanal toll hikes |first=Eric |last=Jackson |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418214654/http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_13/issue_06/business_03.html |archive-date=18 April 2010 }}</ref> have suggested that the Suez Canal is now a viable alternative for cargo between Asia and the US East Coast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/maersk-line-to-dump-panama-canal-for-suez-as-ships-get-bigger.html |title=Maersk Line to Dump Panama Canal for Suez as Ships Get Bigger |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=11 May 2013 |access-date=24 December 2013 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310235704/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/maersk-line-to-dump-panama-canal-for-suez-as-ships-get-bigger.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Panama Canal, however, continues to serve more than 144 of the world's trade routes and the majority of canal traffic comes from the "all-water route" from Asia to the US East and Gulf Coasts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Panama_Canal_Phase_I_Report_-_20Nov2013.docx |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499/pdf/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093259/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499/pdf/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2024 |access-date=13 December 2023}}</ref>

An alternative route through [[Nicaragua]] and [[Lake Nicaragua]] has been proposed. On 15 June 2013, Nicaragua awarded the Hong Kong-based [[HKND Group]] a 50-year concession to develop a [[Nicaragua Canal|canal through the country]].<ref>{{cite news |last=De Cordoba |first=Jose |title=Nicaragua Revives Its Canal Dream |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323734304578543432234604100 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=13 June 2013 |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111022158/http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323734304578543432234604100 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2018, analysts widely viewed the project as defunct,<ref name=cancellation>{{cite news |url=https://www.elfinancierocr.com/economia-y-politica/incertidumbres-financieras-desvanecen-sueno-de/7HFF44CY3RBVVE7BR3YRKJ3XZY/story/ |title=Incertidumbres financieras desvanecen sueño de canal en Nicaragua |website=El Financiero |agency=AFP |date=21 February 2018 |language=Spanish |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=21 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221193924/https://www.elfinancierocr.com/economia-y-politica/incertidumbres-financieras-desvanecen-sueno-de/7HFF44CY3RBVVE7BR3YRKJ3XZY/story/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Interest>{{cite news |first=Seth |last=Cropsey |date=9 April 2018 |title=China sets its sights on South America |website=The American Interest |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/04/09/china-sets-sights-south-america/ |quote=China has abandoned its attempts to construct a Nicaraguan Canal to compete with its Panamanian counterpart. |access-date=10 April 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424072046/https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/04/09/china-sets-sights-south-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Beverly |last=Goldberg |website=Open Democracy |date=27 August 2018 |title=Is the Nicaraguan mega-canal failure good news for indigenous communities? |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/beverly-goldberg/is-nicaraguan-mega-canal-failure-good-news-for-indigenous-communi |access-date=10 April 2023 |archive-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071540/https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/beverly-goldberg/is-nicaraguan-mega-canal-failure-good-news-for-indigenous-communi }}</ref> though the head of the project insisted work was on-going. In April 2018 HKND Group closed its offices, leaving no forwarding address or telephone numbers to be reached.<ref name="closing">{{Cite news |date=26 April 2018 |title=Ex-Billionaire Abandons Office in Prime Hong Kong Tower |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/nicaragua-canal-builder-abandons-office-in-prime-hong-kong-tower |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=13 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413002243/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/nicaragua-canal-builder-abandons-office-in-prime-hong-kong-tower |url-status=live }}</ref>

The increasing rate of melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean has led to speculation that the [[Northwest Passage]] or [[Arctic Bridge]] may become viable for commercial shipping. This route would save {{cvt|9,300|km|mi}} on the route from Asia to Europe compared with the Panama Canal, possibly leading to a diversion of some traffic to that route. However, such a route is beset by unresolved territorial issues and would still hold significant problems owing to ice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/12/20050612-123835-3711r/ |title=Northwest Passage redux |first=Levon |last=Sevunts |work=The Washington Times |date=12 June 2005 |access-date=20 April 2009 |archive-date=26 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226220945/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/12/20050612-123835-3711r/ |url-status=live}} See also: {{cite web |url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1429085&C=america |title=Conservative Leader Harper Asserts Canada's Arctic Claims |first=Michel |last=Comte |publisher=DefenceNews.com (Agence France-Presse) |date=22 December 2005 |access-date=23 February 2006}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Trade and Economic Impact of the Panama Canal ===
{{AI-generated|section=Trade|date=September 2025}}
The Panama Canal has been a vital conduit for global trade since its completion in 1914. By linking the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and [[Pacific Ocean]], the canal has significantly reduced maritime travel time and costs, facilitating economic growth and international commerce. Over the past century, the canal has evolved through expansions and policy changes, further strengthening its role in global trade networks.

==== Expansion and Increased Trade Capacity ====
The expansion of the Panama Canal, completed in 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pancanal.com/|title=Inicio|website=Autoridad del Canal de Panamá}}</ref> allowed for the transit of larger Neopanamax ships, nearly tripling its previous capacity. This development had a profound impact on global trade routes, particularly for container ships, [[liquefied natural gas]] (LNG) carriers, and [[Bulk cargo|bulk commodities]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Chantziara |first=Thalia |date=1988 |title=Panama's Canal: The US Departure and Panama's New Era |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/42763996 |journal=Harvard International Review |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=14–16 |jstor=42763996}}</ref> By accommodating larger vessels, the canal has helped reduce transportation costs for major exporters such as the [[United States]], [[China]], and [[Japan]].<ref name=":2">{{cite journal | jstor=2128198 | last1=Tate | first1=Mercer D. | title=The Panama Canal and Political Partnership | journal=The Journal of Politics | date=1963 | volume=25 | issue=1 | pages=119–138 | doi=10.2307/2128198 }}</ref> Additionally, it has shifted trade dynamics by increasing the viability of East Coast ports in the United States, which have experienced higher traffic as a result of the expansion.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=United |first=States |date=1914 |title=Canal treaties. Executive documents presented to the United States Senate, together with proceedings by the Senate theron relative to the Panama Canal. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100346769/Home |journal=Washington, Govt. Print. Off.|series=Treaties, etc }}</ref>

==== Strategic Importance in Global Commerce ====
As one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, the Panama Canal plays a central role in global commerce. Over 5% of world trade passes through the canal annually, with key commodities including grain, [[petroleum product]]s, and manufactured goods.<ref name=":0" /> The canal is particularly essential for trade between Asia and the Americas, serving as a crucial transit route for automobiles, consumer electronics, and [[raw material]]s.<ref name=":2" /> According to historian Marixa Lasso, the construction of the canal not only altered trade patterns but also erased entire communities and reshaped the economic geography of the region.<ref name=":3" />

==== Economic Impact on Panama and the Region ====
The economic benefits of the canal extend beyond global trade, significantly impacting the [[Economy of Panama|Panamanian economy]]. The [[Panama Canal Authority]] (ACP) generates substantial revenue through tolls and fees, contributing to Panama’s GDP growth and infrastructure development.<ref name=":0" /> Since the canal’s transfer from the United States to [[Panama]] in 1999, revenues have been reinvested into national development projects, including ports, logistics hubs, and free trade zones.<ref name=":2" />  Moreover, the canal's expansion has bolstered employment and stimulated investment in surrounding economic zones.<ref name=":3" />

==== Challenges and Future Developments ====
Despite its success, the Panama Canal faces challenges, including [[climate change]], [[Water scarcity|water shortages]], and competition from alternative trade routes such as the [[Arctic shipping routes|Arctic shipping]] lanes and the [[Suez Canal]].<ref name=":0" /> Periodic droughts have raised concerns about the canal’s long-term water availability, prompting discussions on sustainable water management solutions.<ref name=":2" /> Future investments in technology, such as automated navigation systems, and potential further expansions could enhance the canal’s efficiency and maintain its relevance in global trade.<ref name=":3" />

===Water issues===
[[File:Water level at Gatún Lake from January 1965 through August 2024 (53819777901).png|thumb|upright=1.6|The water level at Gatún Lake from January 1965 to August 2024]]
Gatun Lake is filled with rainwater, and the lake accumulates excess water during wet months. For the old locks, water is lost to the oceans at a rate of {{convert|101,000|m3|e6usgal acre-foot|sigfig=3|abbr=unit}} per downward lock movement.<ref name="PCA14">{{cite web |title=Physical characteristics of the waterway |url=https://pancanal.com/eng/noticiero/canal-faqs/physical/14.html |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507164930/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/noticiero/canal-faqs/physical/14.html |archive-date=7 May 2009 |date=2001 |quote="How much water is required to fill a lock chamber? Each lock chamber requires 101,000 cubic meters of water. An average of 52 million gallons of fresh water are used." |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ship's submerged volume is not relevant to this amount of water.

During the [[dry season]], when there is less rainfall, there is also a shortage of water in Gatun Lake.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/climate/drought-water-shortage-panama-canal.html |title=What Panama's Worst Drought Means for Its Canal's Future |last=Fountain |first=Henry |date=17 May 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2 January 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102175814/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/climate/drought-water-shortage-panama-canal.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a signatory to the 2000 [[United Nations Global Compact]] and member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the ACP developed an environmentally and socially sustainable program for expansion, which protects the aquatic and terrestrial resources of the canal watershed. The expansion uses three water-saving basins at each new lock, diminishing water loss. It also preserves freshwater resources along the waterway by reusing 60 percent of water from the basins in the locks in each transit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alarcón |first1=Luis F. |last2=Ashley |first2=David B. |last3=Sucre de Hanily |first3=Angelique |author4-link=Keith R. Molenaar |last4=Molenaar |first4=Keith R. |last5=Ungo |first5=Ricardo |date=October 2011 |title=Risk Planning and Management for the Panama Canal Expansion Program |journal=Journal of Construction Engineering and Management |volume=137 |issue=10 |pages=762–771 |doi=10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000317 }}</ref>

The mean sea level at the Pacific side is about {{cvt|20|cm|in|0}} higher than that of the Atlantic side due to differences in ocean conditions such as water density and weather.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://psmsl.org/train_and_info/faqs/ |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=psmsl.org |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418112516/https://psmsl.org/train_and_info/faqs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 2015–2016 fiscal year was one of the driest periods on record, restricting ships passage;<ref name="wp20230824">{{Cite news |last=Sheridan |first=Mary Beth |date=24 August 2023 |title=Traffic jam at Panama Canal as water level plummets |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/24/panama-canal-ship-backup/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |issn=0190-8286 }}</ref> 2019 was the fifth driest year for 70 years. Temperature rise has also caused an increase in evaporation.<ref name="wired">{{Cite magazine |last=Jocelyn Timperley |date=15 January 2020 |title=The Panama Canal is running out of water |language=en-GB |magazine=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/panama-canal-climate-change |access-date=25 August 2023 |issn=1357-0978 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093246/https://www.wired.com/story/panama-canal-climate-change/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In normal times, 36 ships can transit the canal each day, but in early December 2023, ships were backing up because only 22 ships per day could transit due to low water levels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yerushalmy |first=Jonathan |date=22 December 2023 |title=Changing climate casts a shadow over the future of the Panama Canal – and global trade |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/changing-climate-casts-a-shadow-over-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-and-global-trade |access-date=22 December 2023 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093214/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/changing-climate-casts-a-shadow-over-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-and-global-trade |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2024, 24 ships per day were allowed to transit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2023 |title=Panama Canal to increase daily transits to 24 starting in January |url=https://pancanal.com/en/panama-canal-to-increase-daily-transits-to-24-starting-in-january/ |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Panama Canal Authority }}</ref> In 2025, the canal authorities begun plans to improve water levels in the canal by building a new dam to feed Lake Gatun, the fresh water source for canal operations.<ref name="m734">{{cite web | last=LaRocco | first=Lori Ann | title=Inside the Panama Canal's mega-project plan to engineer its way through severe droughts of the future | website=CNBC | date=2025-09-13 | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/13/panama-canal-drought-el-nino-climate-change-shipping-trade.html | access-date=2025-12-16}}</ref>

==Third set of locks project (expansion)==
{{Main|Panama Canal expansion project}}
{{Panorama
| image = File:New Panama Canal expansion project.jpg
| height = 170
| caption = The New Panama Canal expansion project, July 2015
}}

An enlargement scheme of the canal was completed and officially opened in June 2017.<ref name="f435">{{cite web | last=Panama | first=U.S. Mission | title=The Expanded Panama Canal | website=U.S. Embassy in Panama | date=2019-03-31 | url=https://pa.usembassy.gov/the-expanded-panama-canal/ | access-date=2025-12-16}}</ref> The project came out because changes in shipping patterns{{snd}}particularly the increasing numbers of larger-than-Panamax ships{{snd}}necessitated changes to the canal for it to retain a significant [[market share]] of transit between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. By 2011, it was estimated 37 percent of the world's container ships had become too large for the earlier canal and locks. The maximum sustainable capacity of the original canal, given some relatively minor improvement work, was estimated at 340 million PC/UMS tons per year; it was anticipated that this capacity would have been reached by 2012 as close to 50% of transiting vessels were already using the full width of the locks.<ref name=acpthird>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/esp/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-proposla-relevant-information.pdf |title=Relevant Information on the Third Set of Locks Project |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=24 April 2006 |access-date=25 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524172203/http://www.pancanal.com/esp/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-proposla-relevant-information.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2006 }}</ref> After a long period of consideration, an enlargement scheme to allow for a greater number of transits and the ability to handle larger ships, similar to the [[History of the Panama Canal#Third-lane plan|Third Lock Scheme]] of 1939, was recommended by the Panama's government canal authority.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesspanama.com/investing/why_invest/panama_canal.php |title=The Panama Canal |publisher=Business in Panama |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927061736/http://www.businesspanama.com/investing/why_invest/panama_canal.php |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4876322.stm |title=Panama Canal set for $7.5bn revamp |first=Jane |last=Monahan |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2006 |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-date=15 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215191150/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4876322.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2010/03/12/pr379.html |title=Panama Canal Authority: Panama Canal Expansion is "2009 Project Finance Deal of the Year", 12 March 2010 |publisher=Pancanal.com |date=12 March 2010 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=29 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329135721/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2010/03/12/pr379.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The expansion proposal, was estimated to cost {{USD|5.25 billion}} and expected to double the canal's shipping capacity by allowing both the passage of longer and wider [[Post-Panamax]] ships, with an increase in overall traffic. This proposal was approved in a [[Panama Canal expansion referendum, 2006|national referendum]] by about 80% on 22 October 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10627208 |title=Panama approves $5.25 billion canal expansion |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=22 October 2006 |access-date=10 November 2019 |archive-date=2 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202053323/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10627208/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The canal expansion began in 2007.<ref name="AP 2016" /> There were numerous engineering aspects to the project, including the excavation of material and construction of the new locks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4212183.html |title=The Panama Canal's Ultimate Upgrade |first=Brad |last=Reagan |work=Popular Mechanics |date=February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206224605/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4212183.html |archive-date=6 February 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4344444.html?page=1 |title=The Panama Canal Gets a New Lane |first=Andrew |last=Kaufman |work=Popular Mechanics |date=February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206005955/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4344444.html?page=1 |archive-date=6 February 2010 }}</ref> On 3 September 2007, thousands of [[Panamanians]] stood across from [[Paraíso, Panamá Province|Paraíso]] Hill in Panama to witness a huge initial [[explosion]] and launch of the Expansion Program. The first phase of the project was the dry [[excavations]] of the {{convert|218|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide [[trench]] connecting the Gaillard Cut with the [[Pacific coast]], removing 47 million cubic meters of earth and rock.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0334522620070904 |title=Work starts on biggest-ever Panama Canal overhaul |work=Reuters |date=4 September 2007 |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127101308/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0334522620070904 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was announced in July 2009 that the Belgian dredging company [[Jan De Nul]], together with a consortium of contractors consisting of the Spanish [[Sacyr|Sacyr Vallehermoso]], the Italian [[Impregilo]], and the Panamanian company Grupo Cusa, had been awarded the contract to build the six new locks for US$3.1 billion. The design of the locks is a carbon copy of the [[Berendrecht Lock]], which is 68 m wide and 500 m long, making it the second largest lock in the world after the Kieldrecht lock in the port of Antwerp, Belgium.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediargus.be/flanderstoday.admin.en/rss/22548040.html?via=rss&language=en |title=De Nul dredging company to build locks in Panama Canal |publisher=Flanders Today |date=17 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904012809/https://www.mediargus.be/flanderstoday.admin.en/rss/22548040.html?via=rss&language=en |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref> By June 2012, a 30 m [[reinforced concrete]] monolith had been completed, the first of 46 such monoliths which will line the new Pacific-side lock walls.<ref name="pca2012jun19">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2012/06/19/pr446.html |title=Panama Canal Completes First Monolith at the New Pacific Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=19 June 2012 |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-date=3 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703220929/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2012/06/19/pr446.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By early July 2012, however, it was announced that the canal expansion project had fallen six months behind schedule, leading expectations for the expansion to open in April 2015 rather than October 2014, as originally planned.<ref name="sb20120702">{{cite web |url=http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/528100-delay-confirmed-on-panama-canal-expansion-project |title=Delay Confirmed on Panama Canal Expansion Project |author=Ship and Bunker |date=2 July 2012 |access-date=7 July 2012 |archive-date=8 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708013547/http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/528100-delay-confirmed-on-panama-canal-expansion-project |url-status=live }}</ref> By September 2014, the new gates were projected to be open for transit at the "beginning of 2016".<ref name="maersk20140829">{{cite web |url=http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=18723 |title=Panama Canal Authority updates Maersk Line on expansion programme |author=Dredging News Online |date=29 August 2014 |publisher=Dredging News Online |access-date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903150152/http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=18723 |archive-date=3 September 2014 }}</ref><ref name="maersk20140901">{{cite web |url=http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/panama-canal-authority-updates-maersk-line-on-expansion-programme/ |title=Panama Canal Authority updates Maersk Line on expansion programme |author=Dredging News Online |date=1 September 2014 |publisher=Hellenic Shipping News |access-date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027212712/http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/panama-canal-authority-updates-maersk-line-on-expansion-programme/ |archive-date=27 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="pca2014aug20">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2014/08/20/pr519.html |title=Panama Canal Updates Maersk Line on Expansion Program |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=20 August 2014 |access-date=3 September 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201011129/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2014/08/20/pr519.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="charlotte">{{cite web |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/09/5160891/sc-international-trade-conference.html |title=Maritime panel to hold sessions on port congestion |first=Bruce |last=Smith |date=9 September 2014 |access-date=11 September 2014 |work=Charlotte Observer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911113315/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/09/5160891/sc-international-trade-conference.html |archive-date=11 September 2014 }}</ref>
[[File:Agua Clara Locks 09 2019 0822.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A [[Neopanamax]] ship passing through the ''Agua Clara'' locks]]
In January 2014, a contract dispute threatened the progress of the project.<ref>{{cite news |title=Contract dispute jeopardizes Panama Canal schedule |url=http://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/7ba02bab-5b13-4e8a-8c6f-deed1c2975c2.aspx |access-date=10 January 2014 |newspaper=American Shipper |date=2 January 2014 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153757/https://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/7ba02bab-5b13-4e8a-8c6f-deed1c2975c2.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Panama Canal refuses to pay $1 billion more for expansion work |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sacyr-panama-idUSBREA0714S20140108 |access-date=10 January 2014 |newspaper=Reuters |date=8 January 2014 |author=Lomi Kriel |author2=Elida Moreno |archive-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016025219/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-sacyr-panama-idUSBREA0714S20140108 |url-status=live }}</ref> There was a delay of less than two months however, with work by the consortium members reaching goals by June 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/02/panama-canal-new-locks-project-works-resume/ |title=Panama Canal New Locks Project Works Resume |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=20 February 2014 |access-date=16 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027210947/http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/02/panama-canal-new-locks-project-works-resume/ |archive-date=27 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/06/second-shipment-of-new-gates-arrive-at-the-panama-canal/ |title=Second Shipment of new gates arrive at the Panama Canal |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=10 June 2014 |access-date=16 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006062940/http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/06/second-shipment-of-new-gates-arrive-at-the-panama-canal/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> In June 2015, flooding of the new locks began: first on the Atlantic side, then on the Pacific; by then, the canal's re-inauguration was slated for April 2016.<ref name="pca2015jun11">{{cite web |url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/11/pr550.html |title=Panama Canal Expansion Begins Filling of New Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=11 June 2015 |access-date=12 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614144853/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/11/pr550.html |archive-date=14 June 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/flooding-of-expanded-panama-canal-begins |first=Kathryn |last=Stone |title=Flooding of Expanded Panama Canal Begins |date=10 June 2015 |work=The Maritime Executive |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614100521/http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/flooding-of-expanded-panama-canal-begins |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pca2015jun22">{{cite web |url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/22/pr551.html |title=Panama Canal Expansion Moves Ahead with Filling of New Pacific Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=22 June 2015 |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702191025/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/22/pr551.html |archive-date=2 July 2015 }}</ref> On 23 March 2016, the expansion inauguration was set for 26 June 2016.<ref name="pca2016mar23">{{cite web |url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2016/03/23/pr579.html |title=Panama Canal Inaugurates Scale Model Training Facility, Announces Expansion Inauguration Date |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405043033/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2016/03/23/pr579.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The expansion was completed in substance in 2016.<ref name="AP 2016" /> The expanded canal has a maximum sustainable capacity of about 600 million PC/UMS tons per year. Tolls continue to be calculated based on vessel tonnage, and in some cases depend on the locks used. The new locks began commercial traffic on 26 June 2016, and the first ship to cross the canal using the third set of locks was a modern [[Neopanamax]] vessel, the Chinese-owned container ship ''Cosco Shipping Panama'', with an official formal opening in 2017.<ref name="AP 2016">{{cite news |last1=Zamorano |first1=Juan |last2=Martinez |first2=Kathia |title=Panama Canal opens $5B locks, bullish despite shipping woes |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b8495e0dad974d39bf4147f647d2f831/panama-canal-opens-5b-locks-bullish-despite-shipping-woes |access-date=6 March 2017 |work=The Big Story |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=26 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626050451/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b8495e0dad974d39bf4147f647d2f831/panama-canal-opens-5b-locks-bullish-despite-shipping-woes |archive-date=26 June 2016 }}</ref> The original locks, now over 100 years old, allow engineers greater access for maintenance, and are projected to continue operating indefinitely.<ref name=acpthird/> After the construction of the new locks, in addition to the already existing ones, to date the ship with the largest dimensions transiting the "Panama Canal new sideway", had the following dimensions: 366.47 meters in length, 48.23 meters in width and 15 meters draft.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The total cost is unknown since the expansion's contractors are seeking at least an additional {{USD|3.4 billion}} from the canal authority due to excess expenses.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bogdanich |first1=Walt |last2=Williams |first2=Jacqueline |last3=Méndez |first3=Ana Graciela |date=22 June 2016 |title=The New Panama Canal: A Risky Bet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/22/world/americas/panama-canal.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/22/world/americas/panama-canal.html |access-date=1 May 2023 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref>
[[File:New Panama Canal.jpg|upright=1.25|thumb|The new ''Agua Clara'' locks on the Atlantic side, in operation]]

The expansion plan include two new flights of locks built parallel to, and operated in addition to, the old locks: one east of the existing Gatun locks, and one southwest of the Miraflores locks, each supported by approach channels. Each flight ascends from sea level directly to the level of Gatun Lake; the existing two-stage ascent at Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks was not replicated. The new lock chambers feature sliding gates, doubled for safety, and are {{cvt|427|m|ft|sigfig=2}} long, {{cvt|55|m|ft|sigfig=2}} wide, and {{cvt|18.3|m|ft|sigfig=2}} deep. This allows the transit of vessels with a beam of up to {{cvt|49|m|ft|sigfig=2}}, an overall length of up to {{cvt|366|m|ft|sigfig=2}} and a draft of up to {{cvt|15|m|ft|sigfig=2}}, equivalent to a container ship carrying around 12,000 containers, each {{cvt|20|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip}} in length (TEU). The new locks are supported by new approach channels, including a {{cvt|6.2|km|mi}} channel at Miraflores from the locks to the Gaillard Cut, skirting Miraflores Lake. Each of these channels is {{cvt|218|m|ft|sigfig=2}} wide, which will require post-Panamax vessels to navigate the channels in one direction at a time. The Gaillard Cut and the channel through Gatun Lake were widened to at least {{cvt|280|m|ft|sigfig=2}} on the straight portions and at least {{cvt|366|m|ft|sigfig=2}} on the bends. The maximum level of Gatun Lake was raised from {{cvt|26.7|to|27.1|m|ft|sigfig=2}}. Each flight of locks is accompanied by nine water reuse basins (three per lock chamber), each basin being about {{cvt|70|m|ft|sigfig=2}} wide, {{cvt|430|m|ft|sigfig=2}} long and {{cvt|5.50|m|ft|sigfig=2}} deep. These gravity-fed basins allow 60 percent of the water used in each transit to be reused; the new locks consequently use 7 percent less water per transit than each of the existing lock lanes. The deepening of Gatun Lake and the raising of its maximum water level also provide capacity for significantly more water storage. These measures allow the expanded canal to operate without constructing new reservoirs.

==Environmental and ecological consequences==
The Panama Canal, one of the most important [[Choke point|chokepoints]] in global trade, has caused many environmental and ecological problems since it was built and expanded. These problems include [[deforestation]], the spread of [[invasive species]], water and air pollution, and water shortage.

Deforestation in the Panama Canal [[drainage basin]] has been a problem for decades. In 1978, researchers said that "clearing the forest in the [drainage basin] might kill the canal."<ref name="bio">{{Cite journal|last1=Condit|first1=Richard|last2=Robinson|first2=W. Douglas|last3=Ibáñez|first3=Roberto |date=May 2001 |title=The Status of the Panama Canal Watershed and Its Biodiversity at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Long-term ecological studies reveal a diverse flora and fauna near the Panama Canal, harbored within a corridor of forest stretching from the Caribbean to the Pacific, but deforestation, land degradation, erosion, and overhunting remain threats|journal=BioScience|volume=51 |pages=389–398 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0389:TSOTPC]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=85832166 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By 1985, the forested area had dropped to 30%.<ref name="guard2007">{{Cite news |last=Parker |first=Matthew |date=28 February 2007 |title=Changing course |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/feb/28/water.conservationandendangeredspecies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093154/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/feb/28/water.conservationandendangeredspecies |archive-date=17 August 2024 |access-date=25 August 2023 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> As of 2000, deforestation from human population growth, land degradation, and erosion continued to harm the ecosystem.<ref name="bio" /> Deforestation causes erosion, which raises the bottoms of the [[Gatun Lake|Gatún]] and [[Lake Alajuela|Alajuela]] Lakes and lowers their ability to hold water.<ref name="guard2007" /> These lakes are very important for both canal operations and the local water supply.

The Panama Canal has made it easier for invasive species to move between oceans. When the [[Panama Canal expansion project|canal was expanded in 2016 with the third set of locks]], global trade increased, and so did the spread of [[invasive species]]. These species cling to the ship and move from one place to another, something that without the boats they would not have been able to do.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Muirhead |first1=Jim R. |last2=Minton |first2=Mark S. |last3=Miller |first3=Whitman A. |last4=Ruiz |first4=Gregory M. |date=2015 |title=Projected effects of the Panama Canal expansion on shipping traffic and biological invasions |journal=Diversity and Distributions |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=75–87 |doi=10.1111/ddi.12260 |issn=1472-4642|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015DivDi..21...75M }}</ref> One example is the [[Asian green mussel]], first found in Caribbean waters in the late 1990s, which has spread through the canal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asian Green Mussels |url=https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/mollusc/other-molluscs/asian-green-mussels/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission |language=en}}</ref> These invasive species can harm local ecosystems and compete with native species.

Ships passing through the canal regularly pollute the water. For example, in 1986, a crude oil spill east of the Caribbean entrance to the canal killed plants and [[invertebrate]]s in the area.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=J. B. |last2=Cubit |first2=J. D. |last3=Keller |first3=B. D. |last4=Batista |first4=V. |last5=Burns |first5=K. |last6=Caffey |first6=H. M. |last7=Caldwell |first7=R. L. |last8=Garrity |first8=S. D.|last9=Getter |first9=C. D. |last10=Gonzalez |first10=C. |last11=Guzman |first11=H. M.|last12=Kaufmann |first12=K. W.|last13=Knap |first13=A. H. |last14=Levings |first14=S. C.|last15=Marshall |first15=M. J.|date=1989-01-06 |title=Ecological effects of a major oil spill on panamanian coastal marine communities|journal=Science|volume=243|issue=4887|pages=37–44 |doi=10.1126/science.243.4887.37 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17780421|bibcode=1989Sci...243...37J }}</ref> The shipping industry also releases emissions of [[greenhouse gas]]es like [[carbon dioxide]] and [[methane]]. The Panama Canal, as a chokepoint, has a lot of heavy traffic and delays, which leads to burning more fuel and producing more emissions than needed. These emissions are a major concern because they contribute to climate change and increase environmental problems.

The Panama Canal uses a lot of fresh water from the [[Gatun Lake|Gatún Lake]], which is [[Panama City]]'s primary source of potable water. For each ship that passes through, about 200 million liters (52 million gallons) of freshwater are needed. This water use has serious environmental and social impacts. During a drought in 2019, Gatún Lake's water levels dropped to historic lows because so much water was being used for the canal.<ref>{{Citation |last=Roque |first=Fernando |title=Lake Gatun Panama Canal: Machine Learning grouping high vegetable activity regions during the year 2019 droughts |date=2022-02-18 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-details/61fc0b580aec1a34e4112df0 |access-date=2024-12-16 |language=en |doi=10.33774/coe-2022-k4gwr|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Planned Indio River Reservoir==
In response to severe drought conditions that significantly impacted the Panama Canal's operations in 2023 and 2024, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced plans to construct a new reservoir on the Indio River. The project aims to augment the canal's water supply and ensure consistent operations amid increasing climate variability.<ref name="WaterPower2024">{{cite web |title=Panama Canal plans new dam to tackle drought and secure water supply |url=https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/analysis/panama-canal-plans-new-dam-to-tackle-drought-and-secure-water-supply/ |website=Water Power Magazine |date=8 March 2024 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref>

The reservoir, estimated to cost $1.6 billion, will include a dam and hold approximately 1.25 billion cubic meters of water. It is expected to provide water for up to 15 additional daily transits during the dry season and support over half of Panama's population with drinking water.<ref name="BrookesBell2024">{{cite web |title=Panama Canal plans new $1.6bn reservoir |url=https://www.brookesbell.com/news-and-knowledge/article/panama-canal-plans-new-1-6bn-reservoir-159115/ |website=Brookes Bell |date=18 March 2024 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref>

This development followed a Panamanian Supreme Court decision in 2023 that redefined the legal boundaries of the canal’s watershed, enabling water projects like the Indio River reservoir to proceed beyond the traditional limits.<ref name="BrookesBell2024" />

The project has also raised social and environmental concerns, as it could displace an estimated 2,000 people and submerge local villages. The ACP has begun public consultations to explore mitigation strategies and compensation plans for affected communities.<ref name="AP2024">{{cite news |title=Panama's canal plan for new reservoir raises displacement fears |url=https://apnews.com/article/6f10f8a297f93a93bc610efd4fc639ff |work=Associated Press |date=20 February 2024 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref>

Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and take approximately six years to complete.<ref name="Reuters2024">{{cite news |title=Panama Canal expects new water reservoir for ship crossings in 6 years |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/panama-canal-expects-new-water-reservoir-ship-crossings-6-years-2024-07-08/ |work=Reuters |date=8 July 2024 |access-date=30 April 2025}}</ref>

==Routes competing with the canal==

===Nicaragua canal===
{{Main|Nicaragua Canal}}
[[File:Panama Nicaragua Canals.png|thumb|Proposed Nicaragua Canal (in red)]]
On 7 July 2014, [[Wang Jing (businessman)|Wang Jing]], chairman of the [[HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment|HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. Ltd. (HKND Group)]] advised that a route for Nicaragua's proposed canal had been approved. The construction work was projected by HKND to begin in 2014 and take five years,<ref name=bbc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30584559 |title=Nicaragua launches construction of inter-oceanic canal |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=23 December 2014 |access-date=9 January 2015 |archive-date=8 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108185127/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30584559 |url-status=live }}</ref> although there had been little progress before the project's abandonment.<ref name=ReutersPerry2017>{{cite web |url=http://news.trust.org/item/20171201092333-6asue |title=Can a coast-to-coast canal solve Nicaragua's poverty problem? |date=1 December 2017 |work=Thomson Reuters Foundation News |access-date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201104008/http://news.trust.org/item/20171201092333-6asue |url-status=live }}</ref> The Nicaraguan parliament approved plans for the {{cvt|280|km|mi|0}} canal through Nicaragua and according to the deal, the company would have been responsible for operating and maintaining the canal for a 50-year period. By May 2017, no concrete action had been reportedly taken constructing the canal and further doubts were expressed about its financing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 August 2017 |title=Four Years Later, China-Backed Nicaragua Canal Struggles to Take Off the Ground |url=https://panampost.com/adriana-peralta/2017/05/08/four-years-later-china-backed-nicaragua-canal-struggles-to-take-off-the-ground/ |access-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823160624/https://panampost.com/adriana-peralta/2017/05/08/four-years-later-china-backed-nicaragua-canal-struggles-to-take-off-the-ground/ |archive-date=23 August 2017 }}</ref> In February 2018, analysts widely viewed the project as defunct, though the head of the project insisted work was on-going and HKND retained the legal rights to the concession for the canal as well as side projects. Despite HKND vanishing in April 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Blake |date=26 April 2018 |title=Ex-Billionaire Abandons Office in Prime Hong Kong Tower |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/nicaragua-canal-builder-abandons-office-in-prime-hong-kong-tower |access-date=6 February 2022 |website=Bloomberg }}</ref> the Nicaraguan government indicates that it will continue with the {{cvt|908|km2|sqmi}} dry land expropriations within Nicaragua, under land expropriation Canal Law 840.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Colombia rail link===
In 2011, Colombia's then-president [[Juan Manuel Santos]] announced a proposal for a {{cvt|220|km|0}} railway between Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean coasts.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e14756c-37a9-11e0-b91a-00144feabdc0.html |last1=Rathbone |first1=John Paul |last2=Mapstone |first2=Naomi |title=China in talks over Panama Canal rival |newspaper=Financial Times |date=13 February 2011 |others=Additional reporting by Geoff Dyer and Robert Wright |url-status=unfit <!-- actually live, but behind paywall --> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215125957/https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e14756c-37a9-11e0-b91a-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=15 February 2011 }}</ref><ref name="ch-co-rail">
{{cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |date=14 February 2011 |title=China goes on the rails to rival Panama canal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/china-rail-rival-panama-canal |url-status=live |work=The Guardian |others=Additional research by Lin Yi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211041102/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/china-rail-rival-panama-canal |archive-date=11 February 2021 }}</ref> However, in 2015 the director of the Colombia-China Chamber of Commerce said the proposal "was mentioned in 2011 and subsequently had minimal relevance".<ref>{{cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Romero |date=3 October 2015 |title=China's Ambitious Rail Projects Crash Into Harsh Realities in Latin America |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/americas/chinas-ambitious-rail-projects-crash-into-harsh-realities-in-latin-america.html |url-status=live |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211032654/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/americas/chinas-ambitious-rail-projects-crash-into-harsh-realities-in-latin-america.html |archive-date=11 February 2021 |url-access=limited }}</ref>

===Northwest Passage===
{{Main|Northwest Passage}}
[[File:Northwest passage.jpg|thumb|The Northwest Passage transits around the north of North America]]
Climate change has thinned much of the Arctic ice that in the past made this route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans impassable. Satellite navigation can help monitor location of the ice which remains, further easing transit. A few ships have successfully crossed the previously impossible route since 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/09/first-came-an-arctic-luxury-cruise-next-comes-arctic-shipping/ |title=That pricey Arctic luxury cruise was just the beginning. Up next: Arctic shipping |author-link=Chris Mooney (journalist) |first=Chris |last=Mooney |date=9 September 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907040356/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/09/first-came-an-arctic-luxury-cruise-next-comes-arctic-shipping/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec===
{{Main|Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec}}
Since 2019, Mexico has been building a corridor of its own, known as the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT, by its initials in Spanish), which will use primarily a railway, the ''[[Tren Interoceánico]]'', to transport cargo and passengers from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.<ref>{{cite journal |title=What is the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT)? |journal=Opportimes |date=19 November 2021 |url=https://www.opportimes.com/what-is-the-interoceanic-corridor-of-the-isthmus-of-tehuantepec-ciit/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719172517/https://www.opportimes.com/what-is-the-interoceanic-corridor-of-the-isthmus-of-tehuantepec-ciit/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It opened for passenger service on 22 December 2023, and all the works related to it to had begun operation by July 2024.<ref>{{cite journal |title="El 22 de diciembre se inaugura el Tren del Istmo": AMLO |journal=[[Proceso (magazine)|Proceso]] |date=14 October 2023 |language=es |url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/2023/10/14/el-22-de-diciembre-se-inaugura-el-tren-del-istmo-amlo-316776.html |access-date=15 October 2023 |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015055731/https://www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/2023/10/14/el-22-de-diciembre-se-inaugura-el-tren-del-istmo-amlo-316776.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Elisa |last=Villa Román |title=Tren Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec: ruta completa, estaciones y fechas de inauguración |journal=[[El País]] |date=1 October 2023 |language=es |url=https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-10-01/tren-interoceanico-del-istmo-de-tehuantepec-ruta-completa-estaciones-y-fechas-de-inauguracion.html |access-date=15 October 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093758/https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-12-22/tren-interoceanico-ruta-estaciones-precios-y-donde-comprar-boletos-en-mexico.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This idea is older than the Panama Canal itself, with the original [[Tren Interoceánico|Tehuantepec Railway]], which is being rehabilitated for the CIIT, being inaugurated in 1907 to initial success, but falling out of use due to the [[Mexican Revolution]] and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The current Corridor is expected to have certain advantages over the Panama Canal, such as its speed, being able to transport cargo from one ocean to the other in about six hours,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Interoceanic Corridor in Mexico will move 1.4 million containers a year |journal=Mexico Daily Post |date=10 November 2022 |url=https://mexicodailypost.com/2022/11/10/interoceanic-corridor-in-mexico-will-move-1-4-million-containers-a-year/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719173721/https://mexicodailypost.com/2022/11/10/interoceanic-corridor-in-mexico-will-move-1-4-million-containers-a-year/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and its location, being closer to the United States than Panama, in addition to the creation of ten [[industrial parks]] in the Isthmus with various tax benefits to encourage private investment.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Juan |last=Toletino Morales |title=Ferrocarril del Istmo: a un siglo, ¿qué puede (volver a) salir mal? |journal=[[Expansión (Mexico)|Expansión]] |date=30 May 2023 |language=es |url=https://expansion.mx/empresas/2023/05/30/proyecto-ferrocarril-del-istmo |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093707/https://expansion.mx/empresas/2023/05/30/proyecto-ferrocarril-del-istmo |url-status=live }}</ref> However, despite being often described as a potential alternative/competitor to the Panama Canal, the ambassador of Panama in Mexico, [[Alfredo Oranges]], and the former director of the CIIT, [[Rafael Marín Mollinedo]], have stated that they do not see the CIIT in this way, and that they prefer to see it as a "complement" to the Panama Canal, which could relieve the intense traffic the Canal has to cope with. The ambassador even proposed collaborating with the Mexican government to make the Corridor more efficient.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jassiel |last=Valdelamar |title=Corredor Interoceánico de AMLO y Canal de Panamá pueden ser 'compitas', destaca embajador |journal=[[El Financiero]] |date=31 May 2023 |language=es |url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/2023/05/31/corredor-interoceanico-y-canal-de-panama-pueden-ser-compitas-destaca-embajador/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093802/https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/2023/05/31/corredor-interoceanico-y-canal-de-panama-pueden-ser-compitas-destaca-embajador/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Nicolás |last=Guzmán |title=El histórico corredor interoceánico que revivió AMLO |journal=[[DW Español]] |date=23 November 2022 |language=es |url=https://www.dw.com/es/el-hist%C3%B3rico-corredor-interoce%C3%A1nico-que-revivi%C3%B3-amlo-en-m%C3%A9xico/a-63865946 |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716042400/https://www.dw.com/es/el-hist%C3%B3rico-corredor-interoce%C3%A1nico-que-revivi%C3%B3-amlo-en-m%C3%A9xico/a-63865946 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other projects===
Individuals, companies, and governments have explored the possibility of constructing deep water ports and rail links connecting coasts as a "dry canal" in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador/Honduras. However, plans to construct these sea-rail-sea links have yet to materialize.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://theloadstar.co.uk/canal-mania-hits-central-america-with-three-more-atlantic-pacific-projects/ |title=Canal mania hits central America with three more Atlantic-Pacific projects |first=Gavin |last=Van Marle |work=The Load Star |date=July 2013 |access-date=15 October 2014 |archive-date=16 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116063316/http://theloadstar.co.uk/canal-mania-hits-central-america-with-three-more-atlantic-pacific-projects/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Master Key to Panama Canal and Honorary Pilots==
During the last one hundred years, the Panama Canal Authority has granted membership in the "Esteemed Order of Bearers of the Master Key of the Panama Canal" and appointed a few "Honorary Lead Pilots" to employees, captains and dignitaries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Certificate from the Esteemed Order of Bearers of the Master Key to the Panama Canal Making Admiral Arleigh Burke an Honorary Lead Pilot |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/manuscripts/b/certificate-from-the-esteemed-order-of-bearers-of-the-master-key-to-the-panama-canal-making-admiral-arleigh-burke-an-honorary-lead-pilot.html |access-date=31 January 2022 |website=NHHC |language=en-US |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093759/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/manuscripts/b/certificate-from-the-esteemed-order-of-bearers-of-the-master-key-to-the-panama-canal-making-admiral-arleigh-burke-an-honorary-lead-pilot.html |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the most recent was US Federal Maritime Commissioner [[Louis E. Sola|Louis Sola]], who was awarded for his work for supporting seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic and previously transiting the canal more than 100 times.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 January 2022 |title=Commissioner Louis E. Sola Honored with Master Key and Honorary Lead Pilot |url=https://www.fmc.gov/commissioner-louis-e-sola-honored-with-master-key-and-honorary-lead-pilot/ |access-date=31 January 2022 |website=Federal Maritime Commission |language=en-us |archive-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131152403/https://www.fmc.gov/commissioner-louis-e-sola-honored-with-master-key-and-honorary-lead-pilot/ }}</ref> On the date of 25 April 2006, was awarded the title of Panama Canal Honorary Pilot the Senior Captain Raffaele Minotauro, an Italian citizen, an Unlimited Oceangoing Shipmaster Senior Grade, of the former Italian governmental navigation company known as the "[[Italian Line]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=web |first=redazione |date=3 October 2018 |title=TOC Conference 2018 Panama. Cenni storici del Canale di Panama (di A. Martinengo) |url=https://www.farodiroma.it/toc-conference-2018-panama-cenni-storici-del-canale-di-panama-di-a-martinengo/ |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=FarodiRoma |language=it-IT |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817093808/https://www.farodiroma.it/toc-conference-2018-panama-cenni-storici-del-canale-di-panama-di-a-martinengo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This award was also given to Commodore Ronald Warwick, a British citizen, in 2014,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buckinghamcovers.com/shop/signer.php?signer_id=458 |title=Buckingham First Day Covers |publisher=Internet Stamps Group Limited |access-date=8 October 2014 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215171611/https://www.buckinghamcovers.com/shop/signer.php?signer_id=458 |url-status=live }}</ref> a former [[Captain (nautical)|Master]] of the [[Cunard Line]]rs ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' and [[RMS Queen Mary 2|RMS ''Queen Mary 2'']], who has traversed the Canal more than 50 times.

==See also==
{{Portal|Panama|United States}}
* [[Ajax (crane barge)]]
* [[Canal des Deux Mers]]
* [[Canal Zone Police]]
* [[Corinth Canal]]
* [[List of waterways]]
* [[Naval Base Panama Canal Zone]]
* [[Panama Canal Zone]]
* [[Suez Canal]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last=Cadbury |first=Deborah |title=Seven Wonders of the Industrial World |year=2003 |publisher=Fourth Estate |location=London and New York}}
* {{cite book |last=McCullough |first=David |author-link=David McCullough |title=The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |year=1977 |isbn=0-671-24409-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/pathbetweenseas00mccu}}

==Further reading==
===Construction and technical issues===
* Brodhead, Michael J. 2012. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131511/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 "The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It"]. US Army Corps of Engineers History Office, Alexandria, Virginia.
* {{Cite book |first1=Jon T. |last1=Hoffman |first2=Michael J |last2=Brodhead |first3=Carol R. |last3=Byerly |first4=Glenn F. |last4=Williams |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/index.html |title=The Panama Canal: An Army's Enterprise |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |year=2009 |location=Washington, D.C. |id=70–115–1 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=3 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403023219/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/index.html }}
* Jaen, Omar (2005). ''Las Negociaciones de los Tratados Torrijos-Carter, 1970–1979 (Tomos 1 y 2)''. Panama: Autoridad del Canal de Panama. {{ISBN|9962-607-32-9}} (Obra completa).
* Jorden, William J. (1984). ''Panama Odyssey''. 746 pages, illustrated. Austin, Texas: [[University of Texas Press]]. {{ISBN|0-292-76469-3}}.
* {{cite book |last=Mills |first=J. Saxon |year=1913 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34124 |title=The Panama Canal{{snd}}A history and description of the enterprise}} A Project Gutenberg free ebook.
* Parker, Matthew. (2007). ''Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time{{snd}}The Building of the Panama Canal''. New York: Doubleday. {{ISBN|978-0-385-51534-4}}.
* Sherman, Gary. "Conquering the Landscape (Gary Sherman explores the life of the great American trailblazer, John Frank Stevens)", ''History Magazine''. July 2008.

===Diplomatic and political history===
* Gilboa, Eytan. "The Panama Invasion Revisited: Lessons for the Use of Force in the Post Cold War Era." ''Political Science Quarterly'' (1995): 539–562. {{JSTOR|2151883}}.
* Greene, Julie, ''The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal'' (New York: Penguin Press, 2009).
* Hogan, J. Michael. "Theodore Roosevelt and the Heroes of Panama". ''Presidential Studies Quarterly 19'' (1989): 79–94. {{JSTOR|40574566}}.
* LaFeber, Walter. ''The Panama Canal: the crisis in historical perspective'' (Oxford University Press, 1978).
* Long, Tom. "[http://dh.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/2/431 Putting the canal on the map: Panamanian Agenda-setting and the 1973 Security Council Meetings]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}," ''Diplomatic History'', 38, No. 2 (2014): pp.&nbsp;431–455.
* Major, John. ''Prize Possession: The United States and the Panama Canal, 1903–1979'' (1993).
* Maurer, Noel, and Carlos Yu. ''The Big Ditch: How America Took, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal'' (Princeton University Press, 2010); 420 pp.&nbsp;{{ISBN|978-0-691-14738-3}}. Econometric analysis of costs ($9 billion in 2009 dollars) and benefits to US and Panama.
*Mellander, Gustavo A., Mellander, Nelly, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390. (1999).
*Mellander, Gustavo A., ''The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years.'' Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. (1971).
* Sánchez, Peter M. ''Panama Lost? U.S. Hegemony, Democracy and the Canal'' (University Press of Florida, 2007), 251 pp.
* Sánchez, Peter M. "The end of hegemony? Panama and the United States." ''International Journal on World Peace'' (2002): 57–89. {{JSTOR|20753364}}.

==External links==
{{Commons and category}}
{{GeoGroup}}
* [http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html Panama Canal Authority website] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812072652/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html |date=12 August 2017 }}){{snd}}Has a simulation showing how the canal works
* ''[http://www.sil.si.edu/Exhibitions/Make-the-Dirt-Fly/ Making the Dirt Fly, Building the Panama Canal]'' Smithsonian Institution Libraries
* [http://www.canalmuseum.com/ Canalmuseum]{{snd}}History, Documents, Photographs and Stories
* [http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/azBrowse/Panama+Canal Early stereographic images of the construction] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120821/http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/azBrowse/Panama+Canal |date=26 August 2014 }}) University of California
* [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/panama A. B. Nichols Panama Canal Collection at the Linda Hall Library] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114608/http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/panama |date=26 August 2014 }}) Archival collection of maps, blueprints, photographs, letters, and other documents, collected by [http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/panama,5315 Aurin B. Nichols]. {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20130113020712/http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/panama,5315 |date=13 January 2013 }}, an engineer who worked on the canal project through from 1899 until its completion
* [https://www.newspapers.com/topics/american-imperialism/panama-canal/ Newspaper articles and clippings about the Panama Canal at Newspapers.com]
* [https://pcmc.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/faq/ Panama Canal Collection]
*{{HAER |survey=CZ-1 |id=cz0039 |title=Panama Canal, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ |photos=66 |cap=5}}
* [https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Panama_Canal.htm Panama Canal] at nationsonline.org

* [https://shipvideos.net/panama_canal/ Videos] of a transit in 1999 (original locks) @ shipvideos.net

{{Panama Canal}}
{{Panama topics}}
{{Ship measurements}}
{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Theodore Roosevelt}}
{{US growth}}
{{Authority control}}

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