[imagesource:flickr]

Humans are capable of amazing engineering feats if we put our minds to it. It may often take some time and a boatload of money, but if needed, we can move mountains, or connect oceans.

The Panama Canal is perhaps one of the biggest engineering projects ever constructed and is even listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Taking almost a decade to complete, and at a cost of $400 million (R7.6 billion), it is the world’s most clever shortcut.

The 82-kilometre waterway in Panama connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, cutting across the Isthmus of Panama, and is a crucial channel for maritime trade.

A series of locks at each end lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial freshwater lake 26 metres above sea level, created by damming up the Chagres River and Lake Alajuela  – to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal. Locks then lower the ships at the other end. An average of 200,000,000 litres of water is used in a single passing of a ship.

The Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.

It is one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, and you can watch the sped-up transit in the below video.

 

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If you’ve ever made use of our partners at Berry & Donaldson, chances are your cargo has made the trip through the Panama Canal. Thanks to clever engineering and Berry & Donaldson’s expert team, not even a landbridge between continents can stop you from shipping whatever, wherever.

[source:wikipedia]