The Panama canal

Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913.

Where is The Panama canal?

One of the largest most difficult engineering projects ever to be undertaken.A ship sailing to New York to San

Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6000 miles) well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 miles) route around Cape Horn

Facts: 1805 : The birth of Ferdinand De Lesseps.

1879 : De Lesseps obtains the opening of the construction of the Panama Canal.1880 : Creation of the « Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique » the opening of a public share investment holdings.1887 : The cost of the construction over runs the initial budget.1889 : The official end came on February 4th 1889 and the companies assets went into the hands of the liquidator. 1893 : The trials open on the scandals of the Canal.1894 : Ferdinand De Lesseps dies a ruined man.1914 : The opening of the Panama canal. Together the French and American expenditures totaled $639,000,000. It took 34 years from the initial effort in 1880 to actually open the Canal in 1914. It is estimated that over 80,000 people took part in the construction and that over 30,000 lives were lost.

The Atlantic to the Pacific

From the Atlantic the Panama Canal runs south for 10 miles (17km) and then eastward to the Pacific Ocean.

Ferdinand De Lesseps 1805-1894 Born on November 19th, 1805 in Versailles, France. His Family was for a long time distinguished in the French diplomatic service.

Joining the WatersIn 1878 Ferdinand De Lesseps, the French engineer who built the Suez Canal, began to dig a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, which was then part of Colombia. Tropical disease and engineering problems halted construction on the canal, but a French business (the New Panama Canal Company)

still held the rights to the project. Roosevelt agreed to

pay $40 million for the rights, and he began to negotiate with

Colombia for control of the land. He offered $10 million for

a fifty-mile strip across the isthmus.

A schematic of the Panama Canal, illustrating the sequence of locks and passages

1882 A Cheque from the French Company for the amount of 1,500 pounds

Birds-eye view, map of the Panama Canal

Steam dredge 1984

Bas Obispo1886Excavator at work near Empire. Averaging 400 cubic yards a day.

Bas Obispo1886The hilltop at Bas Obispo torn up by dynamite. The French dump cars had a capacity from five to eight cubic yards.

Culebra Cut 1898

Disgrace .

When the French abandoned the project

they had spent over twenty years and

$260,000000

In 1903 the Americans took over

1905 Yellow Fever Quarantine Station

Yellow fever (also called yellow jack, black vomit or sometimes American Plague) is an acute viral disease.It is an important cause of hemorrhagic illness in many African and South American countries despite existence of an effective vaccine. The yellow refers to the jaundice symptoms that affect some patients.Yellow fever has been a source of several devastating epidemics.Transmitted to Humans primarily by mosquitoes.

Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa.Malaria parasites are transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites multiply within red blood cells, causing symptoms that include symptoms of anemia (light headedness, shortness of breath, tachycardia etc.), as well as other general symptoms such as fever, chills, nausea, flu-like illness, and in severe cases, coma and death.

1905 fumigation car eradicatingthe mosquitoes

Panama City 1905

"We were dealing with a government of irresponsible

bandits," Roosevelt stormed. "I was prepared to . . . at once

occupy the Isthmus anyhow, and proceed to dig the canal. But I

deemed it likely that there would be a revolution in Panama soon."

AND THERE WAS!

WHICH ONES ?

A train of flat cars needed to carry all the excavated material from the canal It would circle the earth four times the

Equator.A total soil excavated from the canal

would build a pyramid 4,2OO feet (1,280meters) high

Steam shovels digging the Panama Canal

1904 TO 1905 John Findley Wallace

John F. Stevens was named Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal in 1905.

1906 US President Roosevelt visiting the Panama Canal construction site

Construction work on the Gaillard Cut is shown in this photograph

taken in 1907

In 1907 Roosevelt appointed George Washington Goethals as

Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal.

Miraflores Lock Doors Construction 1913

Miraflores Locks 1913First flooding

The Culebra Cut - later known as the Gaillard Cut - under construction

Historic Postcard from the Panama Canal showing the opening of the Gates at Miraflores Locks

1914 Panama Canal Opening Steamer SS Ancon at Pedro Miguel Locks

The Panama canal

Length 79,6 km,Width 152 meters (in average),

Deep 13 meters,Difference in height 26 meters (six Locks),

Construction started in 1881,Ended in 1914,

Number of m3 of water released is 259 millions,

Time of transit takes 8 to 10 hours,Number of boats 14 000 a year.

When the canal opened the United States had

spent $352 million

The opening of the waterway to world commerce on August 15, 1914, represented the realization of a heroic dream of over 400 years. The 50 miles across the isthmus were among the hardest ever won by human ingenuity.

A Historic Postcard from PanamaLesseps Anniversary

Interesting Facts

The cargo ship Ancon was the first vessel to transit the Canal on August 15, 1914.

A boat traveling from New York to San Francisco saves 7,872 miles by using the Panama Canal instead of going around Cape Horn.

The highest toll paid for a transit through the Panama Canal until 1995 paid by the Crown Princess on May 2, 1993; it was US$141,349.97.

The lowest toll paid was US$ 0.36 and was paid by Richard Halliburton who crossed the Canal swimming in 1928.

The San Juan Prospector was the longest ship to transit the Canal; it was 751 ft. (229 m.) in length with a 107 ft. (32.6 m.) beam.

The Hydrofoil Pegasus of the United States Navy did the fastest transit of the Canal by completing it in 2 hours and 41 minutes.

Each door of the locks weights 750 tons.

1. The canal is not just a “path” of water between the two oceans. There are a series of 6 locks in two parallel tracks that raise and lower ships between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.2. The locks had to be built because of the terrain. The highest point is 85 feet above sea level. 3. The canal runs North and South, not East and West. 4. The locks are about 1000 feet long, so ships must be shorter than that to pass through. Many ships are built specifically to fit the Panama Canal. A new canal is being built to accommodate larger ships.5. Ships do not simply sail through the canal. They idle through while they are guided by electricity-powered “mules” attached to the ship with cables.6. A ship like ours pays over $200K in cash, well in advance, to enter the canal. You pay the same amount whether you go through from one side to the other or turn around in the middle.

7. The canal is self-powered. Three dams produce electricity to power the mules, lights and other equipment.8. There are no pumps on the canals. Valves allow water to pass from the higher elevations to the lower ones by power of gravity. The water accumulates in man-made lakes produced from tremendous amounts of rainfall.9. The canal was completed in 1913 by the United States after France failed twice at getting it built. We controlled it until 1999.10. Nine military bases the Americans constructed around the base. They were all vacated by 1999. Many of them are deteriorating.11. “A man, a plan, a canal - Panama” is rather long palindrome. Gen. John Stevens was the man with the plan.

Modern day photo of the Panama Canal. This is yet another modern day legacy left

to our world, from the engineers of a glorious 19th Century.

Now it is your turn. watch , listen and it’s your turn to find out more.

1) What countries were involved in building the canal and what were the work forces like ?

2) What was the country of Panama like before the canal was built ? What challenges did this country present; weather, animals, vegetation, landscape, disease ?

3) What was the timeline for the building of the canal ? What conflicts has the canal caused up to today ? (homework)

4) What locations were chosen for the canal? And what were the reasons for their choices ?

5) How was the canal built ? How does the canal Work ? What are the dimensions of the canal ?

6) Why was the canal so important to many groups of people ? 7) What is the future of the canal ? (Homework)Your personnel work will have to be done properly for studies will be shared within

the class.