The Panama Canal Authority is charged with the administration, operation, conservation, maintenance, and modernization of the Panama Canal. Created by amendment of the Panamanian constitution as an autonomous agency of the Panamanian government, it took over management of the canal from the joint U.S.-Panamanian Panama Canal Commission at noon on December 31, 1999. An important responsibility placed in the hands of the Panama Canal Authority is the care, maintenance, and preservation of water resources in the entire Panama Canal watershed. The watershed is essential to the operation of the canal, and it also supplies water to cities at either end of the canal route.
The Panama Canal Authority is governed by a board of directors. The board consists of 11 members. The chairman, who has the rank of minister of state for canal affairs, is selected by the president of the republic. The legislative branch of the government designates one director, and the remaining nine members are appointed by the president with the concurrence of the cabinet council. They must be ratified by an absolute majority of the legislative assembly.
Container-ship-in-the-Pedro-Miguel-Locks-Panama-CanalContainer ship in the Pedro Miguel Locks, Panama Canal.[Credits : © Spectrum Colour Library/Heritage-Images]
The-Panama-CanalThe Panama Canal.[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Aerial-view-of-the-Pedro-Miguel-Locks-of-the-PanamaAerial view of the Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal. In the forefront a container ship exits …[Credits : Panama Canal Authority]
Passenger-cruise-ship-in-the-Panama-CanalPassenger cruise ship in the Panama Canal.[Credits : Joe Viesti/Viesti Associates, Inc.]
Map-of-central-Panama-from-the-10th-edition-of-EncyclopaediaMap of central Panama (c. 1900), from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Dredges-working-on-the-Culebra-Cut-during-construction-of-theDredges working on the Culebra Cut (later known as the Gaillard Cut) during construction of the …[Credits : Panama Canal Authority]
The-Pedro-Miguel-Locks-raise-or-lower-ships-on-theThe Pedro Miguel Locks raise or lower ships on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.[Credits : © Robert Frerck from TSW—CLICK/Chicago]
Since its opening in 1914, the Panama Canal has linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Over the years, a number of treaties were needed for the building and subsequent use of the Panama …[Credits : Acquired from Vast Video]
The lock system of the Panama Canal was truly a technological marvel for its time, and remains so …[Credits : Acquired from Vast Video]
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Panama Canal" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.