Panama Canal, Panama

The Panama Canal, which is often called the "Bridge of the Americas", is a true masterpiece in an engineering way. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and represents a complicated system of water intake works and locks. Its length is approximately 77 km. The Panama Canal was officially opened in 1920 and was the most grandiose construction project of those times. It is still one of the largest global engineering projects over the past 100 years.

The canal is pretty sizable which creates a convenient waterway to various vessels from huge tankers to tiny private yachts. It is important to be noted that in recent years the Panama Canal has been universally recognized as an outstanding tourist location. Sailing on yachts and cruise ships is very popular. The history of its creation has presented significant challenges and several attempts and dates back to the 18th century. The construction work has been postponed several times. The discovery of gold mines in California has motivated workers to proceed with the construction.

Altogether, the grand project has required huge amounts of money, human effort, dealing with natural disasters and disastrous epidemics. More than 20000 people died under the heavy conditions during the years of work. Nowadays those scary stories are just a distant memory and the Panama Canal has become an essential component in the global economy, international transport system and tourism. Next - Nord-Ostsee-Kanal