360The Panama Canal opens between the Atlantic and Pacific
On 15 August 1914, the cargo ship SS Ancon made the first official passage through the Panama Canal. The 82 km canal across the Isthmus of Panama joined the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, using giant locks to lift ships over the land. It cut the sea journey from New York to San Francisco by about 13,000 km.
Before 1914, ships travelling between the Atlantic and Pacific had to sail around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America.
A French company began a canal across Panama in 1881 but abandoned the work after disease, landslides and financial collapse. The United States took over in 1904.
Engineers built a dam to create Gatun Lake and a system of locks, giant water steps that lift ships 26 m above sea level, across the land and back down. Doctors fought malaria and yellow fever by controlling mosquitoes, which made the work possible. Tens of thousands of workers, many from the Caribbean, built the canal.
On 15 August 1914, the SS Ancon made the first official crossing. The canal cut the voyage from New York to San Francisco by about 13,000 km.
Control of the canal passed to Panama on 31 December 1999. Expanded with larger locks in 2016, it remains one of the world's most important shipping routes.
- 1881
- French construction begins
- 1904
- The United States takes over the project
- 15 August 1914
- The canal opens
- 31 December 1999
- Panama takes control
- 2016
- New, larger locks open
Sources: Panama Canal Authority · Britannica · Smithsonian.