Gatun Lake Locks (looking towards the Caribbean Sea)
from the deck of the Coral Princess cruise ship, April 2009
As seen by the ship captain: the aft deck and Princess Cruise flag
As seen by the ship passengers: 3 sets of Gatun Locks (lift of 85 feet)
Each transiting ship uses at least 52,000,000 gallons of fresh water!
Anyone looking for a bountiful source of fresh water?
As seen by the Joe-kster: the “other” Princess!
Panama Canal Statistics
Creation of the Panama Canal - 1870 to 1914
Panama Canal Zone - 436 square miles
First failed construction of Panama Canal by France
January 1881 -
February 1889 by Ferdinand de Lesseps, known as
“The Great Engineer” after completing the Suez Canal in 1869
Chief Engineers (U.S.) - John Wallace, June 1904 - June 2905
John Stevens, July 1905 - January 1907
George Goethals, February 1907 - January 1914
Length of canal - 50 miles with 15.5 miles sea level & salt water, &
34.5 miles elevated & fresh water
Transit time - 8 to 16 hours
Shortened distance from New York to San Francisco by 7,843 miles
Gatun Lake - 164 square miles
Miraflores Lake - 1.88 square miles
Channel across Gatun Lake - 24 miles
Channel across Miraflores Lake - 1.5 miles
Gaillard Cut (Culebra Cut) - 9 miles long
Lowest toll paid - swimmer Richard Halliburton, 36 cents in 1928
Gatun Locks - 3 sets of locks - lift 85 feet
Pedro Miguel Locks - 1 set of locks - lift 30 feet
Miraflores Locks - 2 sets of locks - lift 55 feet
Lock chambers - 1,000 feet long, 110 feet wide, 70 to 80 feet deep
Total lock gates - 46
Each transiting ship uses at least 52,000,000 gallons of fresh water
Gatun Dam - 1.5 miles long, width @ top - 100 feet, width @ base -
.5 mile, 105 feet above sea level
Miraflores spillway dam - 500 feet long with 8 gates
Total American excavation - 232,440,945 cubic yards
Greatest number of employees at one time - 56,645 in 1913
Recommended Reading: “The Path Between The Seas”,
The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 by David McCullough,
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1977, ISBN 0-671-22563-4
see also
Travel Section
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