Construction was started by the French in the 19th century, but they were never able to complete the project due to various problems. The American government took over the project in 1904 and completed it a decade later, making history. Now the canal is managed by the government of Panama. The Panama Canal not only benefits merchants by facilitating the transit of goods, but is also important in terms of tourism. Canal cruises are very popular and if you are planning to visit this area then don't miss the chance to cruise the canal. During such a trip, you will be able to see the many exotic sights of Panama. Travel agencies will offer you hundreds of different cruise packages, including a number of popular ports such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, etc. This tour will allow you to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and visit exotic Panama City.
Channel History
In fact, the history of the canal goes back much deeper - to the 16th century. In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to notice the extremely thin Isthmus of Panama separating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Balboa's discovery sparked the search for a natural waterway linking the two oceans. In 1534, after no natural route had been found, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered an investigation into the possibility of building a canal. The inspectors ultimately decided that the construction of a shipping channel in these places was impossible.
Start of construction
An interesting fact in the history of the Panama Canal is another construction attempt made by the designer of the Suez Canal. No serious construction attempts were made until the 1880s. In 1881 the French company of Ferdinand de Lessep, the designer of the Suez Canal in Egypt, began to dig a canal through Panama. The project was plagued by bad planning, technical problems and tropical diseases that have killed thousands of workers. De Lessep intended to build a canal at sea level, in the style of the Suez, without any locks. But the excavation process turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris, was hired to build the locks, but De Lessep's company went bankrupt in 1889. At the time, the French unprofitably invested more than $260 million in construction, digging out more than 70 million cubic meters earth. The collapse of the enterprise caused a big scandal in France. De Lessep and his son Charles, along with Eiffel and several other company executives, were charged with embezzlement, mismanagement and fraud. In 1893 they were found guilty, sentenced to prison and fined. After the scandal, Eiffel retired from business and devoted himself to scientific research. A new French company was formed to take over the bankrupt business and continue the canal, but it soon followed the same path. During the 1800s, the United States was also interested in building a canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific. For both economic and military reasons, they considered Nicaragua to be a better location than Panama. However, this plan was abandoned thanks to the efforts of Philippe-Jean Bounod-Varille, a French engineer who was involved in both French canal projects. In the late 1890s, Buno-Varilla began lobbying American lawmakers to buy French canal assets in Panama, and eventually convinced many that Nicaragua had dangerous volcanoes and Panama was the less dangerous option.
In 1902 Congress authorized the purchase of the French assets of the Panama Canal. But Colombia, of which Panama was at the time, refused to ratify the agreement. With the support of Buno-Varilla and the tacit approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, Panama rebelled against Colombia and declared independence. After that, US Secretary of State John Hay and Buno-Varilla, as representative of the provisional government of Panama, agreed on the Hay-Buno-Varilla Agreement, which gave America the right to an area of more than 500 square miles in which to build a canal. The channel, by agreement, was completely transferred to the control of the Americans. It was agreed that the United States would contribute approximately $375 million for construction, including a $10 million payment to Panama, and $40 million to buy French assets. A century after the United States completed the Panama Canal, a shipping link through Nicaragua still remains possible: In 2013, a Chinese company announced a $40 billion deal with the Nicaraguan government for the right to build such a waterway.
Death of workers
More than 25,000 workers officially died during the construction of the Panama Canal. The canal builders faced many obstacles, including difficult terrain, hot, humid weather, heavy rain, and rampant tropical diseases. Earlier French attempts resulted in the death of more than 20,000 workers, and American efforts fared slightly better - between 1904 and 1913 about 5,600 workers died due to disease or accidents.
Many of these earlier deaths were due to yellow fever and malaria. According to the doctors of that time, these diseases were caused by polluted air and poor conditions. By the early 20th century, however, medical experts had uncovered the key role of mosquitoes as carriers of these diseases, allowing them to greatly reduce the number of deaths among workers. Special sanitary measures were carried out, which included draining swamps and reservoirs, removing possible insect breeding grounds, and installing protective screens on windows in buildings.
Capacity of the Panama Canal
Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal each year.
American ships use the channel most often, pursued by China, Chile, Japan, Colombia and South Korea. Each vessel transiting the canal must pay a toll based on its size and cargo volume. The toll for the largest ships can be up to around $450,000. The smallest toll ever paid was 36 cents, paid in 1928 by the American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who conquered the canal. Today, approximately $1.8 billion in tolls are collected annually. On average, it takes a ship 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal. Moving through it, the lock system raises each ship 85 feet above sea level. Vessel captains are not allowed to take control during transit; instead, specially trained personnel take control. In 2010, the one millionth ship crossed the canal since it opened.
Who controls the Panama Canal?
The United States transferred control of the canal to Panama in 1999. In the years following the opening of the canal, relations between America and Panama became tense. Questions arose about control over the canal itself and the area adjacent to it. In 1964, the Panamanians rioted because they were not allowed to fly the national flag of Panama next to the US flag in the canal zone. After the uprising, Panama temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signed agreements transferring control of the canal to Panama from 1999, but giving the United States the right to use a military force to protect the waterway from any threat to its neutrality. Despite the discontent of many politicians who did not want their country to lose its power over the canal, the US Senate ratified the Torrijos-Carter Accords in 1978. Control was transferred to Panama peacefully in December 1999.
Panama Canal expansion
AT this moment the canal is being widened to accommodate modern mega-ships. Work on the expansion began in 2007 at a cost of $5.25 billion to allow the canal to receive post-Panamax class vessels. These vessels are larger than the so-called Panamax, built to match the size of the canal. The expanded channel will be able to handle cargo ships carrying 14,000 20-foot containers, nearly three times the current capacity. The expansion project will be completed at the end of 2015, but the canal will still not be able to handle some of the largest container ships.
Interesting fact
Approximately 236.4 million liters of fresh water are used for the passage of one ship through the Panama Canal. The water comes from Lake Gatun, formed during the construction of the canal by blocking the Chagres River. With an area of 262 square kilometers, Gatun was once the largest artificial lake in the world.
The length of the Panama Canal from deep to deep water is 81.6 km, the minimum width is 150 m, the guaranteed depth is 12 m, the size of the chambers of the paired locks is 305 by 33.5 m. m above sea level Entering from the Atlantic Ocean, ships rise through the three stages of the Gatun locks into the artificial Gatun Lake, which is formed by the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River and lies at an altitude of 25.9 m above sea level. In 1935, the volume of the reservoir was increased by the construction of the Madden Dam in the upper reaches of the Chagres, which led to the appearance of Lake Madden. From Lake Gatun, ships pass the 12-kilometer Culebra notch, descend through the Pedro Miguel locks into Lake Miraflores (16 m above sea level), pass the two-stage Miraflores locks and exit into the Gulf of Panama. The average time for vessels to pass through the canal is 7–8 hours. Two-way traffic is not possible only for large-tonnage vessels in the area of the Culebrskaya excavation.
The Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to cross the Isthmus of Panama in 1513. During the colonial era, plans for the construction of a transoceanic canal repeatedly arose and were not realized. The interest of the United States in the idea of building a canal was indicated during the California gold rush of 1848. In 1850, the United States and Great Britain entered into the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, according to which the parties refused to acquire exclusive rights to the future canal and pledged to guarantee its neutrality.
In 1878, France received from Colombia, which until 1903 included Panama, a concession for 99 years for the construction of a canal. In 1879, a company was established under the leadership of Ferdinand Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal, and work began two years later. However, in 1887 the company went bankrupt due to high prices, financial scams and high mortality of workers. At that time, the United States was probing the possibility of laying a transoceanic canal through the territory of Nicaragua, and a specially created commission in 1899 came to the conclusion three years later that this option was more rational. The United States gained freedom of action in 1901 when it concluded the Hay-Pouncefort treaty with Great Britain, which annulled the previous treaty. The French company was afraid of losing all its capital investments in the event of building a canal through Nicaragua and offered the US all rights and its property in Panama for $40 million. The North American Commission recommended that these conditions be accepted, and in 1902 Congress approved the project and began negotiations with Columbia.
In 1903, under President Roosevelt, the Hay-Erran Treaty on the construction of a canal was signed between the United States and Colombia. However, the Colombian Senate refused to ratify the treaty. Then the United States began to support the Panamanian separatists and did not allow Colombian troops to land on the isthmus in order to crush the uprising. As a result, on November 3, 1903, Panama proclaimed its secession from Colombia and its independence as a separate state.
Already on November 18, 1903, the United States and the government of the newly formed republic signed the Hay-Buno-Varilli treaty, according to which the North Americans received full control over a zone 10 miles wide, running in a strip across the entire isthmus. The US paid Panama $10 million and pledged to pay another $250,000 annually. At the same time, Panama actually became a protectorate of the United States. In 1914, the United States signed the Thompson-Urrutia Treaty with Colombia, which ensured Colombia's recognition of Panama's independence for a certain amount of compensation. The US Senate postponed the ratification of the treaty, and only in 1921 did Columbia receive the promised $25 million.
In 1905, an expert council appointed by President Roosevelt recommended the construction of a lockless canal, but Congress accepted the project of a lock canal. At first, the work was carried out under the guidance of civil engineers, but since 1907 the construction was taken over by the military ministry. He was also in charge of medical control over sanitary conditions and the treatment of tropical diseases. The French, who started construction, excavated 23 million cubic meters. m of land along the canal route; North Americans had to take out another 208 million cubic meters. m. The first ship passed through the Isthmus of Panama on August 15, 1914, but in fact the canal went into operation after official opening June 12, 1920. According to government sources, the construction of the canal cost 380 million dollars.
Panama Canal Zone.
The Hay-Buno-Varilli Treaty of 1903 gave the United States a total of 1,432 sq. km of Panamanian territory, including lakes Gatun and Alajuela, later renamed Lake Madden. Up until 1979, the management of the canal zone was closely linked to the administration of the canal itself. The governor of the zone was a general of the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the zone operated its own police and fire departments, a courthouse, a post office, medical facilities, and English-language schools.
Panama Canal in international relations.
In diplomatic relations between Panama and the United States, the problems associated with the canal zone have always come to the fore. Panama sought to expand its participation in the management of the canal, increase its share of the profits, and protested against discrimination against the Panamanians who worked in the zone. Under the Hull-Alfaro Treaty of 1936, some of the enslaving provisions of the 1903 Treaty were canceled and revised. In particular, the United States renounced the right of military intervention in the internal affairs of Panama and the monopoly on communications across the isthmus, granted Panamanians the right to trade in the canal zone and increased annual payments to 430 thousand dollars.
The Eisenhower-Remona Treaty of 1955 transferred US property outside the canal zone to Panama worth $24 million, increased the annual rent to $1,930,000, obligated the United States to build a bridge across the canal (completed in 1962) and establish water supply to the cities of Colón and Panama , deprived a number of benefits of North American entrepreneurs, limited discrimination against Panamanians employed in the canal zone, gave the government of Panama the right to levy taxes on its citizens working in the zone, and on foreigners (except Americans) working outside the zone.
In 1959, skirmishes between Panamanians and US police took place in the canal zone. After negotiations in 1960, the United States agreed to fly the flags of two states, the United States and Panama, on the border of the zone. Under further agreements in 1962, the US allowed the Panamanian flag to be flown through the zone and agreed to continue discussions on other issues, including equal pay in the Canal Zone for Americans and Panamanians. In January 1964, after American students refused to fly the Panamanian flag along with their flag, further riots broke out which led to the severing of diplomatic relations. Panama again demanded a revision of the terms of the 1903 treaty. In April 1964, diplomatic relations were restored.
In 1967, a draft treaty was developed on the sovereignty of Panama over the canal zone and the creation of a unified canal management, but in 1970 Panama rejected this project. Negotiations, resumed in 1971, led to the signing in 1977 of two agreements, according to which on October 1, 1979 the canal zone passed under the jurisdiction of Panama, and by 2000 the United States pledged to transfer the canal itself to Panama. However, the North Americans reserved the right to intervene militarily if necessary to protect the canal and maintain its neutrality. According to the agreements, the Panama Canal Commission was established to operate the canal. Until 1990, the Commission was headed by a US citizen appointed by the US President, after 1990 and until the transmission of the channel in December 1999, it was headed by a Panamanian, also appointed by the US President.
The Panama Canal is an artificially created artery, the role of which is very difficult to overestimate for the modern transport system of the world. When and under what circumstances was it built? What are its main parameters? The answers to all these questions are contained in our article.
Panama Canal: general characteristics
The channel connects two oceans - the Pacific with the Atlantic. To be more precise: the Gulf of Panama with the Caribbean Sea. It is located within the modern state of Panama, at about 9 degrees north latitude and 79 degrees west longitude. These are its geographic coordinates. The Panama Canal went down in history as one of the largest engineering projects in the history of mankind and significantly influenced the development of world shipping in general.
First of all, the canal reduced the sea distance between the two largest US centers: New York and San Francisco (almost three times!). For all the time of its existence, he missed over 800 thousand different ships. The Panama Canal has been operating for almost a century.
Main channel parameters
The construction of the Panama Canal lasted more than thirty years. And this is not surprising, because in order to implement such a large-scale project, it was necessary to overcome, drill about 70 kilometers on land of the Isthmus of Panama.
The total length of the Panama Canal is 81.6 kilometers. Of these, about 65 kilometers were laid on land. The total width of the channel is about 150 meters. But artificial locks for the passage of ships and vessels have a width of 33 meters. The depth of the canal that divided the two Americas is only 12 meters.
Passage of ships
A wide variety of vessels use the canal's services, from small yachts to large oil tankers. It is curious that the largest ship, which is able to pass through the locks of the Panama Canal, soon became a kind of "measurement", a standard in shipbuilding. He got a specific name: "Panamax".
The passage of ships through the canal is controlled by a special service. On average, one ship overcomes it in nine hours. The Panama Canal can handle up to 50 ships per day. About 200 million tons of various cargoes are transported here annually. Now it is easy to imagine how significant and important the opening of the Panama Canal was 100 years ago.
How much do you need to pay to use this water transport corridor? The rate depends on the length (if we are talking about small ships or yachts), or on the workload (capacity) of the vessel. It is calculated in standard units of measurement - the so-called TEU (this is one container weighing 20 feet). The amount of the rate for one TEU is currently 49 US dollars.
Configuration and main technical features
Direction of the Panama Canal: from southeast to northwest. Its general structure is represented by two artificial reservoirs and two groups of locks. Also, during the laying of the canal, the beds of local rivers were deepened. All locks here are double-sided, which allows for safe oncoming traffic of ships.
The length of the Panama Canal, which falls on the bays (Panama and Limon), is only 16 kilometers. Large ships navigate it with the help of powerful electric locomotives (previously this role was performed by ordinary mules).
The banks of the Panama Canal are connected by three bridges, and a railway line and a highway run along it.
How and when did the channel appear?
It took almost a quarter of a century to realize this grandiose project. Ideas to connect the two oceans with a water crossing began to appear long ago, long before its construction began. However, the technical possibilities for this appeared only at the end of the 19th century.
The first attempt to create a canal on the Isthmus of Panama belongs to the French and dates back to 1879. But it turned out to be unsuccessful and ended in a complete fiasco for France and numerous scandals. Almost 800,000 shareholders were ruined, and 20,000 builders died of malaria. Project leaders were found guilty of fraud and corruption. By the way, one of the authors of this project, the famous Eiffel, received a prison term.
The next attempt to implement the Panama Project belongs to the Americans. And they, unlike the French, were able to bring the matter to an end. The beginning of the construction of the canal can be considered 1902.
Canal and Panamanian "separatists"
It is worth noting that the emergence of such a state as Panama surprisingly coincided with the construction of the canal. Previously, Colombia owned this isthmus, and it was with the president of this country that the United States entered into an agreement to lease a large plot of land for construction work. But it was not there! The Colombian Parliament refused to ratify the agreement. And after that, very interesting things began to happen.
Just in the state of Panama, where the construction of the canal was to take place, a group of local separatists suddenly appeared - fighters for the freedom of the region. Colombia immediately tried to stifle these movements, but the Panamanian "rebels" were immediately supported by the US Navy. The government of Colombia was forced to retreat: in November 1903, Panama proclaimed itself an independent republic. And shortly after that, the newly minted leadership of the state signed an agreement with the United States on the transfer of land for lease and indefinite use of the canal. In exchange, the superpower promised to protect the sovereignty of young Panama.
How was the channel built?
In fairness, it is worth noting that the Americans approached this matter much more seriously than the French. So, the main enemy of the canal was malaria. The Americans very quickly solved this problem: they drained the swamps, created a system of ditches to drain water, and treated the area with chemicals from mosquitoes.
It is worth citing a few dry but impressive figures for statistics. Work on laying the Panama Canal lasted 10 years. More than 70 thousand people took part in them. The total cost of the project was $400 million.
The opening of the Panama Canal was solemn and extremely pompous. Woodrow Wilson (US President), being in the White House, pressed the button and blew up the last jumper of the future channel. And the waters of the two oceans joined! By the way, for the implementation of this majestic act from Washington to Panama, a cable 4,000 kilometers long was specially laid.
It is believed that the opening year of the Panama Canal is 1914. On August 15 of this year, the first ship, the Cristobel, passed through it. However, in the same autumn, a major landslide occurred on the canal, which stopped navigation for a while. Traffic on the Panama Crossing resumed a year later - in 1915, when another solemn opening took place.
Bridge of the Americas
It should be noted that the new grand canal not only connected the two oceans, but also separated the two continents. This problem was immediately felt by the inhabitants of two cities - Colon and Panama, which were cut off from the rest of their republic.
The construction of the so-called bridge of the Americas began in 1959 and was completed in 1962. It became the first solid road bridge to connect two continents. Before that, drawbridges provided communication between the two banks of the canal.
Current state and prospects
Despite the fact that the canal was built exactly 100 years ago, it is still in great demand today. Of course, the size and tonnage of modern ships have increased markedly. Therefore, the modern Panama Canal faces a number of potential and serious problems today.
In 2006, a special referendum was held in Panama regarding the future of the channel. And 79% of the country's inhabitants spoke "for" its expansion and modernization. Active work began in 2007. It is planned that in the very near future the width of the access locks will increase from 34 to 55 meters, and the depth - up to 15.2 meters. Thus, the Panama Canal will be able to pass modern large-capacity oil tankers.
The total cargo turnover should rise to 600 million PEU. According to plans, the new Panama Canal after reconstruction will be able to pass 18.8 thousand ships a year. The total cost of the canal upgrade project is a huge amount: US$5.25 billion.
Alternative to the Panama Canal
It is obvious that the volumes of world shipping are growing. And if in the first half of the twentieth century the Panama Canal did an excellent job with its duties, today it is increasingly facing new problems. Yes, in last years sea traffic jams from ships, which are formed on both sides of the canal, have become more frequent. Sometimes the length of one such traffic jam reaches several tens of large vessels.
Based on this, many are thinking about the need to build a second Panama Canal. Nicaragua, in this regard, is seen as the most suitable option.
The projected canal in Nicaragua is a great alternative to the Panama Canal, many experts say. Yes, and natural conditions contribute to its laying. By the way, the first ideas to cut a passage in this country arose as early as the 17th century.
Nicaraguan canal
The leaders of three states (Russia, China and Nicaragua) have already agreed on joint participation in this project. New channel can not only solve the transport problem, but also deprive the United States of its economic monopoly in this region.
45 billion dollars is estimated cost project. The main financial burden promised to take over China. Russian Federation in turn undertakes to provide military support for the project. Thus, Russian warships are allowed to stay in the territorial waters of Nicaragua until mid-2015.
It is planned that the width of the Nicaraguan Canal will be from 230 to 530 meters, and the depth - up to 30 meters. The total length of the canal will be 278 kilometers, of which 105 kilometers must pass through the waters of Lake Nicaragua.
Conclusion
The Panama Canal is a majestic structure, one of the greatest engineering projects in human history. It took 10 long years and millions of dollars to build. Despite its advanced age, the Panama Canal continues to be in great demand. However, new times require new capacities, as a result of which the channel faces a host of new problems. To solve this problem, it was decided to modernize the building qualitatively. In addition, alternative options are being considered, in particular, laying a new canal in Nicaragua.
To visit Panama and not see the Panama Canal means not to visit Panama. Today we talk about this attraction, as well as share tips on how best to visit the Panama Canal on your own.
Panama Canal. Data.
For those who have never been particularly interested in the Panama Canal, it may seem like a small stream that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In fact, its length is about 80 km, which ships cover in 8-10 hours. Until recently, the width of the channel at the lock was 34 meters. Thanks to the opening of a new branch, which took place in June 2016, the canal can now pass ships with a width of 55 meters and a depth under the waterline of more than 18 meters.
The canal consists of a system of sluices (gates), which, when moving from the Caribbean Sea, initially raises the water level by 26 meters above sea level in the Gatuna region. After the passage of the main part, the water level is lowered using the Pedro Miguel lock (9.5 meters) and the Miraflores lock system (two chambers 16.5 meters). 
The electrification of the facility was carried out, among other things, with the help of two hydroelectric power plants, with a capacity of 22.5 and 36 MW, located in Gatuna and near Miraflores. 
History of the construction of the Panama Canal.
The idea of building a canal was first mentioned in the 16th century, and the history of its approval and construction was accompanied by political and economic confrontations between countries such as the USA, Spain, Great Britain, and France. Now they are going to dig a similar canal through Nicaragua: the project was adopted relatively recently - in 2014.
In 1879, the developer of the Suez Canal, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, launched a campaign to build the Panama Canal. As a result, the French arrived in Panama in 1881 and in 1882 began dredging work. Thus, 1882 can be considered the beginning of the construction of the canal. 
The original plan was to build a canal 22 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Interestingly, the project did not include a system of locks: the canal was supposed to naturally connect two oceans with one sea level, which meant cutting off the isthmus and deep excavations. In addition to engineering difficulties, the construction was complicated by the yellow fever epidemic, the financial crisis, and a court scandal in which many politicians, including Ferdinand, were accused of taking bribes.
As a result, the project was bought out by the Americans, who made the key decision to use a lock system to reduce dredging work. In seven years, 153 million cubic meters of earth have been excavated in dry mining. The work also included drilling and blasting rocks.
To increase the depth of the channel, various equipment was used, including ships. This ship was specially built in Scotland and started working in 1912. A chain with 52 buckets was able to excavate over 1,000 tons of material in less than 40 minutes. 
On October 10, 1913, US President Wilson ordered by telegraph to blow up the remaining small part of the land that separated the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The first ship to cross the canal while still under construction was the floating crane Alexandre Le Vallee. It happened in January 1914. In August of the same year, the cargo-passenger ship Cristobal repeated his path. The official opening of the channel is considered August 15, 1914 and the passage of the cargo ship Ancon.
How to visit the Panama Canal.
Few people know that the passage of ships through the Panama Canal can be seen in several places: in Colon (Gatun Gate) and near Panama City (Miraflores Gate). Gatun compares favorably with cheap visits and the absence of crowds of tourists. On the other hand, these pluses are absolutely crossed out by minuses. Colon is one of the most dangerous cities in Panama. We are often skeptical about the horror stories from Lownel Planet, where it is also written that you should not go to Colon, so at first we planned to visit it. However, after talking with the locals, we abandoned this idea. Colon turned out to be really dangerous and we were told that even at the train station there is a possibility of robbery. "How lucky," summed up one of our random local fellow travelers.
If you have plenty of time in Panama, you can make the passage through the canal by boat. There are commercial offers, but you can also volunteer on a yacht waiting in line. There are special sites where yacht owners are looking for a team. According to Panamanian laws, any ship must have four sailors of the mooring group, and their services are not cheap - from $ 50, so captains and owners are looking for adventurers. You can google Panama canal transit line handlers or look at http://www.panlinehandler.com/. We even had an option with couchsurfing on such a yacht, but, unfortunately, it did not fit the dates at all. 
There is also the opportunity to ride on a special train along the canal. It’s hard for us to say that there you can see such a thing from him in order to pay pretty decent money. 
In the end, we went, like most, to Miraflores. You can get there from Albrook station, which is probably familiar to tourists arriving in Panama City on their own. The bus to Miraflores leaves every hour at 00:00 (exit F), and, lo and behold, the sign says Miraflores (usually the logistics in Panama are not so easy). The bus takes you to the Miraflores complex itself, the cost of entry tickets for non-residents is $ 15, for children - $ 10. 
In spite of technical capability simultaneous service of ships in two directions, in the morning the ships go towards the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic), and in the afternoon back towards the Pacific Ocean. The channel is recommended for visiting from 9.00 to 11.00 and then after 13.00. We were late for the first period due to plugging with breakfast at the hotel. We managed to pass the time a bit by visiting the museum and watching a short film about the construction of the Panama Canal. The session in English starts every hour at 50, in Spanish - at 20 minutes.
The museum complex includes a souvenir shop, as well as a museum with an exposition, where the most interesting was the video of the passage of the canal from the captain's cabin. 
Despite all this entertainment, we had to wait for the passage of the ships for about three more hours. Meanwhile, the local staff, using loudspeakers, told some facts about the canal, and also informed about the likely time of the ship's arrival. In general, at first it was interesting to listen to, also people with a mouthpiece said that now is not the season, but then this record began to really tire and annoy. In our case, the movement was supposed to start at two o'clock, in fact it happened even later - at three. 
There are several opportunities to watch the ships. First, it's a big deck on the 4th floor. From it, we watched how pleasure boats with tourists who paid $ 150 for a ticket pass the canal from the middle. 
On the second floor there is a small amphitheater with seats, like in a stadium. We had to wait another three hours, so we landed there. True, we were tormented by doubts whether everyone would so decorously sit during the passage of the ships. Center staff assured that this would be the case. Naive ... Closer to three people kept coming and coming, and just stood near the fence. 
Just before their arrival, the workers with a mouthpiece tried to reason with the people, but after unsuccessful attempts, they quickly retreated. We deliberately took places on the edge in order to have an overview in the direction of the ships in case of emergency. But the smartest spectators stood on the steps, and it was impossible to move them. So every now and then I had to get up to take a photo or even go down and squeeze insolently. 
Probably the best option for observations is to recognize the cafe on the third floor. But we don’t know how to book a table and wait, and what kind of policy is there in general in this regard.
And then everyone revived. In the speakers, we heard about the approach of the ship. Everyone began to click cameras despite the fact that the ship was still swimming and swimming. 
The passage of the ship is certainly interesting and fascinating. The ship enters the lock chamber and stops, after which the first gate closes behind it. 
Then water is pumped out of the chamber, and the ship quietly sinks with it. From the photos you can see for yourself the initial and final results. As we already wrote, on these gates the total drop is 16.5 meters. 
When the water level in the two chambers becomes the same, the gate in front of the ship opens and it moves into the next chamber. Locomotives or “mules”, as they are called here, help the ship move inside the channel. 
The ship passes the last gate far enough from the observation platform, according to the same scenario as the previous gate, so almost no one paid attention to it. 
Thus, we managed to see how the three ships were going. It was impressive. We spent almost a day here and got a little tired from the heat, the waiting, the people who couldn't sit still, but it was still worth it. We went to Panama Bay to have dinner by the ocean, and along the way we even managed to overtake the ship we already knew. 
And container ships. Maximum size a vessel that can pass through the Panama Canal has become the de facto standard in shipbuilding, having received the name Panamax.
Vessels are escorted through the Panama Canal by the Pilot Service of the Panama Canal. The average time for a ship to pass through the channel is 9 hours, the minimum time is 4 hours 10 minutes. The maximum throughput is 48 vessels per day. About 14 thousand ships carrying about 280 million tons of cargo pass through the canal facilities every year. (5% of the world's ocean freight). The channel is overloaded, so the queue to pass through it is sold at auctions. The total fee for the passage of a vessel through the canal can reach $400,000. By 2002, more than 800,000 ships used the canal's services.
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The original plan to build a canal connecting the two oceans dates back to the 16th century, but King Philip II of Spain imposed a ban on the consideration of such projects, because "what God has connected, man cannot separate." In the 1790s the canal project was developed by Alessandro Malaspina, his team even surveyed the canal construction route.
Due to the growth of international trade, interest in the canal revived by the beginning of the 19th century; in 1814, Spain passed a law on the construction of an interoceanic canal; in 1825, a similar decision was made by the Congress of Central American States. The discovery of gold deposits in California aroused in the United States an increased interest in the canal problem, and in 1848 the United States, under the Hayes Treaty, received a monopoly right in Nicaragua to build all types of interoceanic communications. Great Britain, whose possessions were in contact with Nicaragua, hastened to curb the expansion of the United States by concluding with them on April 18, 1850, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty on the joint guarantee of neutrality and security of the future inter-oceanic canal. Throughout the 19th century, two main options for the direction of the canal were considered: through Nicaragua (see Nicaraguan Canal) and through Panama.
However, the first attempt to build a navigable route on the Isthmus of Panama dates back only to 1879. The initiative in developing the Panama variant was seized by the French. At that time, the attention of the United States was attracted mainly by the Nicaraguan version. In 1879, in Paris, under the chairmanship of Ferdinand Lesseps, the head of the construction of the Suez Canal, the “General Company of the Interoceanic Canal” was created, the shares of which were acquired by more than 800 thousand people, the company bought from the engineer Wise for 10 million francs the concession for the construction of the Panama Canal, which he received from the government of Colombia in 1878. An international congress convened before the formation of the Panama Canal Company spoke in favor of a sea-level canal; the cost of the work was planned at 658 million francs and the volume of earthworks was envisaged at 157 million cubic meters. yards . In 1887, the idea of a lockless canal had to be abandoned in order to reduce the amount of work, since the company's funds (1.5 billion francs) were squandered mainly on bribing newspapers and members of parliament; only a third was spent on the production of works. As a result, on December 14, 1888, the company stopped making payments, and work was soon halted.
The Panama scandal was a clear indication of the decay of the political and business elites of the Third French Republic and revealed the extent of corruption among the press. "Panama" has since become a household name for a major bribery scam. The company went bankrupt, which led to the ruin of thousands of small shareholders. This adventure was called Panama, and the word "Panama" has become synonymous with scam, fraud on a grandiose scale. A court-appointed liquidator for the Panama Canal Company created in 1894 new company Panama Canal, from the very beginning, due to financial difficulties and the bad reputation of the project, doomed to vegetate.
Under the Treaty of 1903, the United States received in perpetual possession "a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, establishment of sanitary order and protection of the said channel", as provided for in Article 2 of the Treaty. Article 3 gave the US all rights as if it were the territory's sovereign. In addition, the United States became the guarantor of the independence of the Republic of Panama and received the right to maintain order in the cities of Panama and Colon in the event that the Republic of Panama, in the opinion of the United States, would be unable to independently maintain order. The economic side of the Treaty repeated the Hay-Erran Treaty, which was not ratified by Colombia. On behalf of Panama, the treaty was signed by French citizen Philippe Buno-Varilla 2 hours before the official delegation of Panama arrived in Washington.
Construction began under the auspices of the US Department of Defense, with Panama effectively becoming a US protectorate.
In August 1945, Japan planned to bomb the canal.
Channel configuration
Due to the S-shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from the southeast (Pacific Ocean side) to the northwest (Atlantic Ocean). The channel consists of two artificial lakes connected by channels and deepened riverbeds, as well as two groups of locks. From the side of the Atlantic Ocean, the three-chamber gateway "Gatun" connects Limonskaya Bay with Lake Gatun. On the Pacific side, the two-chamber Miraflores lock and the single-chamber Pedro Miguel lock connect Panama Bay with the canal bed. The difference between the level of the World Ocean and the level of the Panama Canal is 25.9 meters. Additional water supply is provided by another reservoir - Lake Alajuela.
All canal locks are two-line, which provides the possibility of simultaneous oncoming movement of ships along the canal. In practice, however, usually both strings of locks operate to allow ships to pass in the same direction. Dimensions of lock chambers: width 33.53 m, length 304.8 m, minimum depth 12.55 m. Each chamber holds 101 thousand m³ of water. The passage of large ships through the locks is provided by special small electric railway locomotives called mules(in honor of the mules, which previously served as the main draft force for moving baroque along the rivers).
The Canal Administration has established the following passage dimensions for vessels: length - 294.1 m (965 ft), width - 32.3 m (106 ft), draft - 12 m (39.5 ft) in fresh tropical water, height - 57, 91 m (190 ft), measured from the waterline to the highest point of the ship. In exceptional cases, ships may be granted permission to pass at 62.5 m (205 ft), provided that the passage is made in low water.
The canal is crossed by two bridges along its length. Along the route of the canal between the cities of Panama and Colon, a road and a railway were laid.
Canal Passage Fees
Canal tolls are officially collected by the Panama Canal Authority, a government agency in Panama. Fee rates are set depending on the type of vessel.
The amount of the fee for container ships is calculated depending on their capacity, expressed in TEU (the volume of a standard 20-foot container). From May 1, 2006, the rate is $49 per TEU.
The amount of payment from other vessels is determined depending on their displacement. For 2006, the fee rate was $2.96 per ton up to 10,000 tons, $2.90 for each of the next 10,000 tons, and $2.85 for each subsequent ton.
The fee for small craft is calculated based on their length:
The future of the channel
On October 23, 2006, the results of the referendum on the expansion of the Panama Canal were summed up in Panama, which was supported by 79% of the population. The adoption of this plan was facilitated by the Chinese business structures that manage the channel. According to the plan, by 2016, the canal was to be modernized and be able to pass oil tankers with a displacement of more than 130,000 tons, which will significantly reduce the delivery time of Venezuelan oil to China. Just by this time, Venezuela promised to increase oil supplies to China to 1 million