A concise physical description of the Panama Canal is found in Sandra W. Meditz and Dennis M. Hanratty (eds.), Panama: A Country Study, 4th ed. (1989). Paul J. Scheips (ed.), The Panama Canal: Readings on Its History (1979); and David McCullough, The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 (1977), detail the history of the canal’s construction.
Works treating the canal mostly from the point of view of international law and foreign relations include Paul B. Ryan, The Panama Canal Controversy: U.S. Diplomacy and Defense Interests (1977); J. Michael Hogan, The Panama Canal in American Politics: Domestic Advocacy and the Evolution of Policy (1986); Walter LaFeber, The Panama Canal: The Crisis in Historical Perspective, updated ed. (1989); John Major, Prize Possession: The United States and the Panama Canal, 1903–1979 (1993); and Mark Falcoff, Panama’s Canal: What Happens When the United States Gives a Small Country What It Wants (1998).
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.