Panama Canal
Water
A shortcut for ships between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
The Panama Canal cuts through the narrowest part of the Americas. Since 1914 ships no longer have to sail all the way around South America, which saves a voyage of about 13,000 kilometres.
The canal is 82 kilometres long. Locks lift the ships 26 metres up to a lake in the middle and lower them again on the other side. The crossing takes eight to ten hours.
- long
- 82 km
- opened
- 1914
- ships are lifted
- 26 m
- 1
The lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents, by a man who swam through the canal in 1928.
- 2
Around 13,000 ships pass through every year.
- 3
The land bends here, so a ship sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific travels towards the south-east, not the west.
Question 1 of 2
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