Panama Canal

MONOGRAPH

“Panama Canal”

Contents

Introduction…………………….…………….…………….……………..Page 3
History…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….Page 4
The Construction…………….…………….…………….……………….Page 6
Problems at the Culebra Cut…………….…………….………………....Page 9
The Locks…………….…………….…………….…………….………...Page 11
The Dams…………….…………….…………….…………….………...Page 13
The Future…………….…………….…………….…………….……….Page 14Conclusion…………….…………….…………….…………….……….Page 15
ANNEXE…..………….…………….…………….…………….……….Page 16

Panama Canal
Panama Canal

Introduction
Introduction

The Panama Canal is an inter-oceanic waterway between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean crossing the Isthmus of Panama in its narrowest point.

Since it was inaugurated on August 15, 1914, has had a generously proportioned to shorten time and distance of maritimecommunication, boosting trade and economic development by providing a path of short and relatively inexpensive transit between the two oceans, decisively influencing on world trade patterns, driving economic growth in developed countries and providing the basic drive for economic expansion in many remote regions of the world. United States and China are the main users of the Canal.
Beforebuilding the Panama Canal, the natural step used was the Magellan Strait at the southern end tip of the continent, Argentina and Chile.

History
History

The history of the Panama Canal goes back to 16th century. After realizing the riches of Peru, Ecuador, and Asia, and counting the time it took the gold to reach the ports of Spain, it was suggested c.1524 to Charles V, that by cutting out a pieceof land somewhere in Panama, the trips would be shorter and the risk of taking the treasures through the isthmus would justify such an enterprise. A survey of the isthmus was ordered and subsequently a working plan for a canal was drawn up in 1529. The wars in Europe and the thirsts for the control of kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea simply put the project on permanent hold.
In 1534 a Spanishofficial suggested a canal route close to that of the present canal. Later, several other plans for a canal were suggested, but no action was taken. The Spanish government subsequently abandoned its interest in the canal.

In the early 19th century the books of the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt revived interest in the project, and in 1819 the Spanish government formally authorized theconstruction of a canal and the creation of a company to build it. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the rush of would-be miners stimulated America´s interest in digging the canal
Various surveys were made between 1850 and 1875 showing that only two routes were practical, the one across Panama and another across Nicaragua. In 1876 an international

company was organized; two yearslater it obtained a concession from the Colombian government to dig a canal across the isthmus. The international company failed, and in 1880 a French company was organized by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal.

In 1879, de Lesseps proposed a sea level canal through Panama. With the success he had with the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt just ten years earlier,de Lesseps was confident he would complete the water circle around the world.
Time and mileage would be dramatically reduced when travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean or vice versa.
Although de Lesseps was not an engineer, he was appointed chairman for the construction of the Panama Canal. Upon taking charge, he organized an International Congress to discuss several schemes forconstructing a ship canal. De Lesseps opted for a sea-level canal based on the construction of the Suez Canal. He believed that if a sea-level canal worked when constructing the Suez Canal, it must work for the Panama Canal.
In 1899 the US Congress created an Isthmian Canal Commission to examine the possibilities of a Central American canal and to recommend a route. The commission first...