While a canal crossing the Isthmus of Panama had been envisioned since the sixteenth century, it wasn’t until 1881 that the French first attempted the feat. However, they eventually halted work due to engineering problems and disease. The United States took on the project in 1904 and completed construction a decade later, ultimately excavating 130 million cubic meters of earth for a total 204.9 million cubic meters of earth moved to complete the canal. The canal officially opened to shipping on 15 August 1914. Currently, two lock systems raise ships 26 meters to the largest artificial lake in the world, Gatun Lake, a valuable watershed that has become popular with anglers and is home to Barro Colorado Island, a research island operated by the Smithsonian Institute. The lake’s presence is an essential element to the canal system and necessary for the operation of the locks. A third set of locks is currently under construction. The larger capacity of these new locks will allow for larger ships to traverse the canal, and could also allow for more efficient vessels to be used, leading to a reduction in operation costs and greenhouse gas emissions. They are expected to be opened for traffic in 2016.
Contributed by Jennifer Abplanalp
Course: Modern Global Environmental History
Instructor: Dr. Wilko Graf von Hardenberg
University of Wisconsin–Madison, US
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