Panama Canal Presentation Latin American Studies 2009

1. The Panama Canal
Engineering Wonder of 20th Century
According to the American Society of Civil
Engineers
“The canal remains a testament to the
combined skills of structural, geotechnical,
hydraulic and sanitary engineers.”

2. The Seven Engineering Wonders
of the Modern World
• Channel Tunnel-English Channel
• CN Tower- Toronto, Canada
• Empire State Building- NYC, USA
• Golden Gate Bridge- San Francisco, USA
• Itaipu Dam- Brazil-Paraguay border
• Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
• Panama Canal- Panama

4. Map of Panama
Ended on
November 6th
1903

5. Vasco Núñez
de Balboa
•Spanish Explorer
•Governor
•Conquistador
Crossed the Isthmus
of Panama in 1513

6. Isthmus of Panama
• Narrow Strip of land that lies between the
Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean
• Links North and South America
• Formed over 3 million years ago
• Location is of great strategic value

7. Holy Roman
Emperor Charles
V (Charles I of
Spain)
•In 1534 order
the Panama
Governor
• first to
believe and
attempted

8. Ulysses S.
Grant
•Elected in
1869
•In 1869
begins
surveys in
Mexico ,
Panama and
Nicaragua

9. French Canal
Company
•Began working
on the Canal in
1880
•Terrain
•Diseases
•Labor force

10. President Theodore
Roosevelt
•26th
President of
the United
States
•Elected in
1901
•Want U.S.
control in
Panama

11. Panama Revolution and Independence
November 1903

12. Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
•Signed on
November 18, 1903
•Granted U.S.
control over
Panama Canal for a
price
•Negotiated by
Phillipe Bunau-
Varilla and U.S.
Secretary of State
John Hay

13. U.S Canal construction
•Began in 1904
•Employed
thousands of
Panamanians and
U.S. construction
companies
•First ship traveled
thru the canal in
1914
•Officially finished
in 1915

14. Archival Footage
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgK3BkR
m6A

15. Torrijos-Carter
Treaties
•Signed on
September 7,
1977
•Overruled
overturned
the Hay-
Bunau Varilla
Treaty of
1903

16. Facts and Figures
• Construction began 1904
• Opened Aug. 15, 1914
• 50 Miles long deep water to deep water
• Average depth 43 feet
• Width varies between 500 to 1000 feet
• 14000 vessels pass every year
• Average of 8 to 10 hour journey
• Travel time from NYC to San Francisco 6000 miles
compared to 14000 taking route around Cape Horn
• Tolls based on tonnage of the vessel

17. Key Figures in the Construction
• William C. Gorgas- Surgeon
General U.S. Army 1914-1918
Sent to Panama in 1904 to
eradicate yellow fever/ malaria
from the Canal Zone.
• John F. Stevens- Chief engineer
from 1905-1907, Responsible
for initial work on the Culebra
Cut and deciding to build a lock
type canal.
• Gen. George Washington
Goethals. U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers ,Assigned completion
of canal in 1907 by Pres.
Roosevelt.

18. Culebra Cut
• Manmade valley that cuts
through continental divide
• Line that divides the flow of
water between Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans-East to
West
• The Cut forms part of the
Panama Canal linking Lake
Gatun and the Atlantic
Ocean to the Gulf of
Panama and Pacific Ocean
• It is 4.8 miles from Pedro
Locks on the Pacific side of
the Chagres River (water
levels of 85 feet above sea
level)

19. Layout of Canal
• Consists of artificial
lakes (Miraflores,
Gatun)and channels
and three sets of
locks
• Additional artificial
lake, Alajuela Lake,
acts as a reservoir for
the canal
• Chagres River is
dammed by the
Gatun Dam and forms
Gatun Lake-it drains
northwest into the
Caribbean Sea

20. Gatun Dam
• Constructed 1907-
1913
• Impounds Gatun Lake
• Hydro-electric
generating station
generates electricity
• Electricity used to
operate the locks and
other equipment in
the canal

21. How Locks Work/Design
• Three sets of the two lane Canal work as water elevators to lift the
ships to the level of the Gatun Lake
• Set of lanes can accommodate traffic on opposite or same direction
• No pumps used to lift the ships, the work is done by a force of
gravity
• Later lower the ships back to sea level on the other side of the
Isthmus of Panama
• Electric locomotive on the side provides complete control of
movement of vessels
• All operations accomplished from a control house built on the
center wall of the upper lock chamber.
• Single person can run every operation in the passage of the ship
except for the towing

22. • .

23. Know details about the canal
• http://www.pancanal.com/eng/multimedia/in
dex.html

24. Murals
• Located in the rotunda of the Panama Canal
Administration Building
• Painted by New Yorker William B. Van Ingen
• Also painted murals in U.S. Library of Congress
and Philadelphia Mint.
• Depict the labor involved in the building of the
Canal through four scenes.

25. Culebra Cut Excavation

26. Construction of Miraflores Locks

27. Gatun Dam Spillway Construction

28. Canal Lock Gate Under Construction

29. Story of the
Bridges
• When the Panama Canal was
completed in 1914, it divided the
country of Panama as well as
North and South America except
for a small service bridge at the
Gatun Locks.
• In 1942, a small service swing
bridge was built at the
Miraflores Locks. Both of these
bridges were quite small and can
only be used when the locks
gates are closed. Therefore as
traffic increased, the small
service bridges and ferries could
not handle the volume of traffic.

30. • Finally in 1959, the United States started construction
on the Bridge of the Americas and completed the
bridge in 1962.
• When opened, the bridge was an important part of the
Pan-American Highway, and carried around 9,500
vehicles per day; however, this expanded over time,
and by 2004 the bridge was carrying 35,000 vehicles
per day. The bridge therefore became a significant
bottleneck on the highway, which led to the
construction of the Centennial Bridge, which now
carries the Pan-American Highway too.

31. Bridge of the Americas

32. Bridge of the Americas
• Puente de Las Américas (In Spanish).
• The Bridge of the Americas is approximately 354
ft. high and 5,400 ft. long, and connects the land
that was divided during the construction of the
Panama Canal(as well as north and south
America). The Bridge of the Americas crosses the
Pacific approach to the Panama Canal at Balboa,
near Panama City and serves as an important part
of the Inter-American Highway.

33. • -Originally known as the Thatcher Ferry
Bridge, is a road bridge in Panama, which
spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama
Canal.
• -Completed in 1962, costing $20 million, it
was the only non-swinging bridge (there are
two other bridges, one at the Miraflores locks
and one at the Gatun locks)

35. Centennial Bridge

36. Centennial Bridge
• (Spanish: Puente Centenario)
A major bridge crossing the Panama Canal. It
was built to supplement the overcrowded
Bridge of the Americas, and to replace it as
the carrier of the Pan-American Highway;
upon its opening in 2004, it became only the
second permanent crossing of the canal.

37. • The bridge is cable-stayed ,meaning it’s a bridge that
consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the
bridge, the cables are made nearly parallel by attaching cables
to various points on the tower.
• It’s designed with a total span of 1,052 m (3,451 ft). The
main span is 320 m (1,050 ft), and clears the canal by 80 m (262
ft), allowing large vessels to pass below it.
• The bridge is supported by two towers, each 184 m (604 ft)
high. The deck carries six lanes of traffic across the canal.
The bridge is designed to withstand the earthquake.
• The West Tower of the bridge was built ca. 50m inland to allow
space for the future widening of the Panama Canal.

39. Expansion efforts
• Panamanian President Martín Torrijos
presented the plan on April 24, 2006. Saying
that The project will double the canal's
capacity and allow more traffic
• Panamanian citizens approved it in a national
referendum by 76.8% of the vote on October
22, 2006.

40. • The first phase of the expansion project is the dry excavations of
the 218 meter (715 ft) wide trench connecting the Culebra Cut with
the Pacific coast, removing 47 million cubic meters of earth and
rock.
• The project will create a new lane of traffic along the Canal by
constructing a new set of locks. Details of the project include the
following integrated components:
• Construction of two lock complexes—one on the Atlantic side and
another on the Pacific side—each with three chambers, which
include three water-saving basins;
• Excavation of new access channels to the new locks and the
widening of existing navigational channels; and,
• Deepening of the navigation channels and the elevation of Gatun
Lake’s maximum operating level.

41. Expansion Construction Photos

42. Objectives of the expansion
• (1) achieve long-term sustainability and growth for the
Canal’s contributions to Panamanian society through
the payments it makes to the National Treasury
• (2)maintain the Canal’s competitiveness as well as the
value added by Panama’s maritime route to the
national economy.
• (3) increase the Canal’s capacity to capture the growing
tonnage demand with the appropriate levels of service
for each market segment.
• (4) make the Canal more productive, safe and efficient.

43. Estimated time/cost
• The construction of the third set of locks
project will take between seven to eight years.
The new locks could begin operations
between fiscal years 2014 and 2015.
• The construction cost of the third set of locks
is estimated at approximately $5,250
million.($5.2 Billion)

45. Virtual Video of Expansion
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9T3_ohQ
woc

46. Live Cameras
• http://www.pancanal.com/eng/multimedia/in
dex

47. Water Preservation Efforts
• Gatun Lake loses a total of 52 million gallons of fresh
water to the Ocean each time a ship transits the canal.
• During dry season the lake does not have enough
water so it is a problem.
• United Nations Global Compact and a member of
World Business Counsel of Sustainable Development ,
developed a sustainable program which will protect
aquatic and terrestrial resources of the Canal
Watershed.
• A set of new locks will diminish water loss and will
reuse 60 percent of the water in each transit.

48. Final Video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGMBUzF
yVl4&feature=related

49. Works Cited
• American Society of Civil Engineers. N.p.. n.d. web. 24 Nov. 2009.
• Bridge of the Americas.Virtualpanama.com.N.p.n.d.web.24 Nov.2009
• Centennial Bridge,Panama.absoluteastronomy.com.N.p.n.d.web. 24 Nov. 2009
• Dunnell, Tony, “The Conceptual History of the Panama Canal” suite101.com. 23
Sept. 2009.web.24 Nov. 2009“
• “John F. Big Smoke ‘Stevens”. Calisota Online.web.1 Nov. 2009
• Panama Canal Authority. N. p.. n. d..web. 01 Nov. 2009
• Panama Canal Expansion canalmuseum.com.N.P..n.d.web.1 Dec. 2009
• Panama Canal Zone Totally Explained. N. p..n. d.. Web. 1 Nov. 2009
• Small Planet Communications.“The Panama Canal”.N. p. n.d.. Web. 1 Nov. 2009
• Winner, Don, “The Panama Canal Administration Building- Putting Things into
Historical Perspective” 11 Aug. 2006. Panama-Guide.com. Web. 1 Nov. 2009

50. Works Cited
• Animaniacs-The Panama Canal.17 June
2007.YouTube.web.29 Nov. 2009
• Building the U.S. Panama Canal Zone 1904
2 March 2008.YouTube.web.25 Nov. 2009
• Know details about the canal.pancanal.web.
24 Nov. 2009
• Panama Canal Expansion-Lock Concepts.1
March 2008.YouTube.web. 24 Nov. 2009