The world became a smaller place with the successful efforts of the engineering and administrative skills of John F. Stevens and Col. George W. Goethals. Under their tutelage the centuries-old dream of uniting the two great oceans became reality. The Panama Canal is one of the modern Wonders of the world because it is an extraordinary feat both in terms of architecture and utility. Earlier Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps had attempted it, but after being repeatedly thwarted in his enterprise, the project was abandoned. 42,000 workers dredged, blasted and excavated from Colon to Balboa. They moved enough earth and rubble to bury the island of Manhattan to a depth of 12 ft. -- or enough to open a 16-ft.-wide tunnel to the center of the Earth. The Panama Canal also generated a Palindrome which goes like this: A MAN A PLAN A CANAL - PANAMA.
Explore more Natural wonders of the world.
|
| | After completion, it still remained a challenge remained as to how to tame the flood waters of the Chagres River. This was solved by erecting a dam that, at that time, formed the world's largest man-made lake. Today the Canal operates much as it did in 1914 - when it first opened. In each transit, 52 million gallons of fresh water is lost, but it is quickly replaced by Panama's heavy rainfall. The canal remains a testament to the combined skills of structural, geotechnical, hydraulic and sanitary engineers. |
Moreover, it was a significantly peaceful operation conducted in the troubled times that records the World War-II. In 1534, Charles I of Spain ordered the first survey of a proposed canal route through the Isthmus of Panama. However, more than three centuries lapsed before the first construction began. The French labored 20 years, beginning in 1880, but their efforts were thwarted by disease and financial problems. In 1903, Panama and the United States signed a treaty, enabling the United States undertake the construction of the Panama Canal. The monumental project was completed in ten years at a cost of about $387 million. It was the first official ocean-to-ocean transit of the waterway.
|
·
Panama Hotels
· Cheap Flights To Panama
· Panama Cruise
|
| Allwondersoftheworld.com will give you a more comprehensive idea and more amazing information about the Panama Canal.
|
