10. On August 15, 1914, the American-built waterway across the Isthmus of
Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was inaugurated
with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship.
August 15. 2014, marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal, one
of the greatest engineering works of the 20th century. Some 5 percent of
the maritime world trade passes through its locks.
11. The ground was broken by the French in 1880. When their
construction efforts faltered and funds ran out, Americans-
spearheaded by President Teddy Roosevelt-bought the rights and
took over the task in 1904.
It was perilous work. An estimated 20,000 laborers' lives were lost-
many to diseases, including yellow fever and malaria-during the
French period of construction alone.
In the end, the canal was a 51-mile-long, 10-mile-wide system of
locks that cut across Panama-from Limón Bay at Colón to the Bay of
Panama at Balboa-to join the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
12. Bas Obispo1886.The hilltop at Bas Obispo torn up by dynamite. The french dump cars had a capacity from five to eight cubic yards.
14. A steam shovel used for excavating and loading French dirt cars is shown in Culebra Cut, Culebra, in the Panama Canal Zone in Dec. 1904. (AP Photo)
19. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, in white at rear of train, reviews American troops in the Panama Canal Zone during an inspection of canal construction work in
Panama in Nov. 1906. (AP Photo)
20. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt tests a
steam shovel at the Culebra Cut during
construction of the Panama Canal, a project he
championed, November 1906. Roosevelt's visit
to Panama made him the first sitting U.S.
president to travel abroad. (AP Photo)
21. 1906 US President Roosevelt visiting the Panama Canal construction site
22. The Panama Canal in 1907: Before the United States began building the Panama Canal in 1904, an earlier attempt by the French was derailed by pervasive malaria
and yellow fever. The American plan included extensive efforts to control mosquitoes, which had just been identified as the diseases' carrier.
24. This is a partial view of floor construction of the upper Gatun Lock of the Panama Canal, showing wall form towers and sidewall culvert forms, Dec. 15, 1909. (AP
Photo)
26. Laborers Arrive From Barbados, 1909. According to the
photo's notes, the S.S. Ancon arrives at the town of
Cristóbal in September 1909, brimming with 1,500
laborers from Barbados. Photograph courtesy William
Joseph Showalter, National Geographic
By 1905, more than 17,000 construction workers were
employed. West Indians—half of whom were from
Barbados—totaled 20 percent of the workforce,
accounting for more than all the Americans and
Europeans combined.
The West Indians earned about ten cents an hour, had
the most difficult working conditions, and had the
worst food and housing of all the laborers. Still, some
found a measure of success. Many returned home with
the money they had earned during the construction
period, but others established families and stayed on
as employees of the Panama Canal.
27. Steam shovels, Panama Canal, circa 1905-1914. (Detroit Publishing Co. Photograph Collection/Courtesy Library of Congress/Gift of State Historical Society of
Colorado)
29. The Panama Canal is shown under construction in this view looking north at Gatun Upper Locks and Forebay in Panama on Feb. 1, 1911. (AP Photo)
30. Gaton Upper Locks, August 5, 1911. workers construct the Gaton Upper Locks on August 5, 1911. Eighty-two-feet high, each door weighs 750 tons. Photograph by
Ernest Hallen, National Geographic
32. The construction of the Panama Canal continues in January 1912 with the Miraflores Locks, center, and the lift sills and East wall in the foreground. (AP Photo)
33. A crew of 150 men shift tracks by hand during construction in the Panama Canal Zone at Culebra Cut, Culebra, in Jan. 1912. (AP Photo)
34. Steam shovels clear the last pile of rock, completing one of several deep cuts along the route of the Panama Canal, May 20, 1913. The canal, completed in 1914,
provided a long-awaited sea link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (AP Photo/File)
35. This photograph, looking north from the lighthouse on the west wall, shows the Gatun middle locks of the Panama Canal in the final stages of construction on June
25, 1913. Built by France and the United States, the canal links the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans for commercial transportation in 1913. The lower locks and the
Atlantic Ocean entrance can be seen in the distance. (AP Photo)
40. The First Boat Through. Photograph by Roscoe G. Searle, National Geographic
Printed in the February 1914 issue of National Geographic in a second story titled "The Panama Canal," this photo shows the first vessel—a tugboat christened the
Gatun—to travel through the manmade waterway's locks. It made the journey on September 26, 1913. By August 15 of the following year, the canal was completely
navigable and open for business.
45. Ships passing through Gatun Lock in the Panama Canal in January 1915 (Hulton Archive/Getty)
46. This is a general view looking north from barrier formed by slide dredges at work during construction in the Panama Canal Zone at Gaillard Cut, Culebra, Panama,
on Oct. 30, 1915. (AP Photo)
47. 19th November 1918: Two of the locks on the route of the Panama Canal. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
48. 1st March 1927: Gatun Locks on the Panama Canal. (Photo by J. H. Helsby/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
49. During his goodwill flight over Central America and the West Indies, Colonel Charles Lindbergh flies along the Panama Canal, March 2, 1928. (AP Photo)
50. The “City of New York”, Rear-Admiral Byrd’s flagship in his South Pole expedition, goes through locks in the Panama Canal toward New York City June 9, 1930.
Small “donkey engines” are drawing the shin along. The “City of New York” is scheduled to arrive in New York City on June 19. (AP Photo)
51. The USS Arkansas on the Panama Canal around Feb. 1931. (AP Photo)
52. U.S.S. Colorado, American dreadnaught, passing through the Panama Canal, on Jan. 14, 1939, on the way to the Atlantic Ocean for war games. In one day 80 warships
like this passed along the canal to take part in the war games. (AP Photo)
53. A map of Central America showing the Panama Canal (centre) and three proposed routes for new and larger capacity canals to the north and south of the existing
channel. The US government, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, is considering the use of atomic blasting to save time and cost. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton
Archive/Getty Images)
54. United States - Circa 1950s: Cargo ship, Panama Canal. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)
55. 15th April 1942: US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson (1867 - 1950), watching a US troopship pass through a lock in the Panama canal on its way to a theatre of war.
(Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
56. Panama Canal, Panama: Ships sailing through the Panama Canal, Panama December 1972. After passing the locks, it is easy for the ships to sail as a few lakes
provides enough space and each ship can give another a large breath. The Panama Canal is 81 km long and 12,5 m deep. (Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)
57. Panama Canal, Panama: Steamer passing through the locks of Panama Canal, December 1972. When Panama Canal was open in 1914, it seemed oversize for the
than vessels but today it is often a tight fit for the modern ships. (Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)
58. A tanker ship docks at the Hutchinson facilities at the Port of Cristobal at the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999. U.S. conservatives
have accused Hutchinson of establishing a Communist Chinese foothold at the entrance of the US-built waterway. Hutchinson runs container service ports
throughout the world and is expanding commercial operations and construction at both it's Panama ports. (AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve)
59. A cargo ship sail throughs the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal in Panama City, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. (AP PHoto/Arnulfo Franco)
60. View of cargo ships in front of Colon, on August 31, 2013. (Luis Acosta /AFP/Getty Images)
61. View of a cargo ship in the Panama Bay in Panama City on July 18, 2013. Panama officially requested UN inspectors scrutinize the cargo on the North Korean ship
seized near Panama on Tuesday, which UN diplomats said could constitute a breach of the strict arms sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear
programme. North Korea said Wednesday that Cuban arms seized from the Pyongyang-flagged ship near the Panama Canal were part of a legitimate deal. (Rodrigo
Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
62. Picture of one of the construction sites of the new set of locks of the Panama Canal, in Colon, 100 km from Panama City, taken on February 20, 2014. According to
officials, work to widen the Panama Canal was to resume on Thursday, two weeks after the huge project was suspended over $1.6 billion in cost overruns, but
authorities did not confirm if works had in fact been reactivated. The dispute with the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), is over $1.6 billion in cost
overruns in the project, the main part of which is to equip the canal with a third set of locks. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)
63. A worker is seen at the Miraflores locks at the Panama Canal in Panama City on April 29, 2014. Panama, which has been experiencing a record economic growth
and construction boom in the last years, will hold presidential elections on May 4. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
64. Partial view of the Port of Balboa in front the Panama Canal, near Panama City on July 31, 2014. Next August 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal,
one of the greatest engineering works of the 20th century and through which five percent of the maritime world trade goes. Panama took control of the 80-km-long
canal and the 1,426-square-km enclave that surrounds it at midnight on December 31, 1999 according to the 1977 handover treaty signed by then-presidents of the
US, Jimmy Carter and Panama, Omar Torrijos. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
65. A ship is guided by a tug as she passes through the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal near Panama City on July 31, 2014. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
66. A ship arrives with new rolling gates for the Panama Canal's third set of locks for the canal's expansion project at Limon Bay, Gatun, Panama, Tuesday, June 10.
2014. According the Panama Canal Authority, the second group of four gates for the new locks has arrived from Italy. The construction of the third set of locks will
allow the passage of Post-Panamax vessels or container ships much too big to fit through the Panama Canal's old locks. (AP Photo/Tito Herrera)
67. A man walks near new rolling gates for the Panama Canal's third set of locks for the Canal's expansion project at Limon Bay, Gatun, Panama, Tuesday, June 10.
2014.
68. A couple of tugboats bring in a ship
with new rolling gates for the Panama
Canal's third set of locks, for the canal's
expansion project at Limon Bay, Gatun,
Panama, Tuesday, June 10. 2014.
69. A ship is guided by a tugboat under Centenary Bridge at the Panama Canal, near Panama City on July 31, 2014. August 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the
Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering works of the 20th century and through which five percent of the maritime world trade goes. Panama took control of
the 80-km-long canal and the 1,426-square-km enclave that surrounds it at midnight on December 31, 1999 according to the 1977 handover treaty signed by then-
presidents of the US, Jimmy Carter and Panama, Omar Torrijos. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
70. View of the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal on July 31, 2014.
71. A tugboat sails next to the Bridge of Americas at the Panama Canal on July 31, 2014. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
72. A tugboat sails next to the Bridge of Americas at the Panama Canal on July 31, 2014. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
73. A ship is guided by tugboats through the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal near Panama City on July 31, 2014.(Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
74. Linehandlers work next to a ship in the Panama Canal, near Panama City on August 1, 2014.(Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
75. Linehandlers work aboard a ship in the Panama Canal, near Panama City on August 1, 2014.(Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
76. Linehandlers work aboard a ship in the Panama Canal, near Panama City on August 1, 2014.(Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
77. View of workers at the Panama Canal extension works in Cocoli, near Panama City, on August 8, 2014.(Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
78. A worker walks near a crane tower over the construction site of Panama Canal's Pacific expansion project in Cococli, on the outskirts of Panama City, Friday, Aug.
8, 2014. August 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal construction, as it undergoes the biggest expansion project since it opened in 1914, which will
allow larger Post-Panamax ships to cross the canal. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
79. Cranes tower over the construction site of Panama Canal's Pacific expansion project in Cococli, on the outskirts of Panama City, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. (AP
Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
80. Cranes tower over the construction site of Panama Canal's Pacific expansion project in Cococli, on the outskirts of Panama City, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014.(AP
Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
81. Workers walk near cranes that tower over the construction site of Panama Canal's Pacific expansion project in Cococli, on the outskirts of Panama City, Friday,
Aug. 8, 2014 (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
82. A ship is guided by a tugboat through the Panama Canal near to the Bridge of Americas, near Panama City on July 31, 2014. (Rodrigo Arangua /AFP/Getty Images)
83. end
cast Panama Canal celebrates100th anniversary
images credit www.
Music yanni
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A view across the Panama Canal, 5th January 2012. (Photo by Francis Tsang/Cover/Getty Images)
