3. "The land of the divided, the world united." It's hard to imagine
a more fitting motto for what in no uncertain terms irrevocably
changed the Western Hemisphere forever. For fifty miles the canal
transects the exotic emerald jungles of Panama and gives one
an appreciation of what a Herculean task it was to build this
waterway before the advent of computers and giant earth
movers.
4. Approaching the canal at 5:00 a.m. See the arrow pointing to show which side to
enter?
7. The water is making the ship rise to the next level--needs to get to the reddish area of the gate.
8.
9. This is the landscape of the area around the canal--one third of Panama is tropical rainforest.
The lighthouse is for the ships traveling on Lake Gatun.
18. The ship is passing through the first set of gates.
19. The ship approaches the second gate.
It will go through the same process as it passes
through the gate.
It will rise to the lake level: 85 ft. above sea level.
24. Notice that there is not much room for the ships to pass through.
This picture was taken from a balcony on the cruise ship.
25. (Lago Gatún) Lake Gatun is a large
artificial lake situated in the Republic of
Panama; it forms a major part of the
Panama Canal, carrying ships for 33 km
(20 miles) of their transit across the
Isthmus of Panama.
26. Interesting Facts
* The cargo ship Ancon was the first vessel to transit the
Canal on August 15, 1914.
* A boat traveling from New York to San Francisco saves
7,872 miles by using the Panama Canal instead of going
around Cape Horn.
* The highest toll paid for a transit through the Panama
Canal until 1995 paid by the Crown Princess on May 2, 1993; it
was US$141,349.97.
* The lowest toll paid was US$ 0.36 and was paid by Richard
Halliburton who crossed the Canal swimming in 1928.
* The San Juan Prospector was the longest ship to transit the
Canal; it was 751 ft. (229 m.) in length with a 107 ft. (32.6 m.)
beam.
`` * Each door of the locks weights 750 tons.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/pancanal1.html