Definitions for Panama Canal
pana·ma canal

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Panama Canalnoun

   a ship canal 40 miles long across the Isthmus of Panama built by the United States (1904-1914)

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Panama Canalnoun

   A major man-made canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Panama Canal

   The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan and the even less popular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait. Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped because of lack of investors' confidence due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project on May 4, 1904, and opened the canal on August 15, 1914. The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999. It is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. Canal locks at each end lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 meters (85 ft) above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks are 33.5 meters (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, New Panamax ships.Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal. In 2017 it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two locks. The American Society of Civil Engineers has ranked the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Panama Canal

   The Panama Canal is a 48-mile ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake was created to reduce the amount of work required for the canal. The current locks are 110 feet wide. A third, wider lane of locks is being built. France began work on the canal in 1881, but had to stop because of engineering problems and high mortality due to disease. The United States later took over the project and took a decade to complete the canal in 1914, enabling ships to avoid the lengthy Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America or to navigate the Strait of Magellan. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut made it possible for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in half the time previously required. The shorter, faster, safer route to the US West Coast and to nations in and along the Pacific Ocean allowed those places to become more integrated with the world economy.

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Panama Canal

   Geographers were familiar with the idea of connecting the two oceans by a canal through Central America as early as the beginning of the 16th century, and Dutch plans are said to exist dating from the 17th century. The first practical steps were taken by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1879; two years later work was begun; the cost was estimated at £24,000,000, but on January 1, 1889, the company was forced into liquidation after spending over £70,000,000, and accomplishing but a fifth of the work. Extravagance and incapacity were alleged among the causes of failure; but the apparently insurmountable difficulties were marshes, quicksands, and the overflow of the Chagres River, the prevalence of earthquakes, the length of the rainy season, the cost of labour and living, and the extreme unhealthiness of the climate.

Matched Categories

1. • Ship Canal

How to pronounce Panama Canal?

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How to say Panama Canal in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Panama Canal in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Panama Canal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Panama Canal in a Sentence

1. Ted Cruz:

   Four decades ago Jimmy Carter gave away the Panama Canal, we built it, we paid for it and then a feckless left-wing president gave it away. Well Mr. President, you don't have the authority to give away vital military assets, and if you do that, you will be held accountable by the next president for undermining the national security of this country.

2. Ted Cruz:

   I got ahead of it on being born in the Canal Zone when I was running in 2008, i said, 'Look, there is a precedent set: Barry Goldwater ran for president; was born in Arizona when it was a territory.' The Panama Canal was a territory of the United States of America.