The Panama Canal, which is located in Panama, Central America. This canal connects the Pacific Ocean and (via the Caribbean Sea) the Atlantic Ocean. This 82 km long canal is one of the major waterways of international trade, through which more than 15 thousand small and big ships pass every year. However, when this canal was built, about 1000 ships used to pass through here.
You will be surprised to know that the distance between the east and west coasts of America decreases by about 12,875 kilometers after passing through this canal, otherwise the ships would have to make a long detour, which would have taken about two weeks.But now ships cover this distance in 10-12 hours only.
The Panama Canal passes through the freshwater lake Gatun, whose water level is 26 meters above sea level. In such a situation, three locks have been made for the entry of ships, in which the ships are first entered and then they are raised by filling water, so that they can pass through this lake. It is the only waterway in the world where the captain of any ship completely hands over the control of his ship to the local expert captain of Panama.
Although the idea of building the Panama Canal was thought of in the 15th century, but due to initial difficulties, it could not be made. Then France started the work of making it in the year 1881, but due to lack of living space and lack of cleanliness, the workers working here started getting diseases and also due to engineering problems (such as machine failure). France stopped work midway. It is said that France worked to build it for about nine years, but during this time about 20 thousand people died here.
In the year 1904, America started the work of building this canal and finally in 1914 it completed the work of the canal. It is said that America had completed the work of building this canal two years before the scheduled time. The work of building this canal is considered to be the largest and most difficult engineering project in the world.
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