Image: Wikimedia Commons

Panama Canal

Large canal in Panama

Placeship canalQ7350

Country: Panama
Located in: Panamá Province
, Panamá Oeste Province
, Colón Province
Elevation: 26 m
1
Sources
1.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/11/panama-canal-amazing-locks/
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Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Locks at each end lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial fresh water lake 26 meters (85 ft) above sea level, created by damming 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. The original locks are 33.5 meters (110 ft) wide and allow the passage of Panamax ships. A third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The new locks allow for the transit of larger, Neopanamax ships. An average of 200,000,000 litres of fresh water is used in a single passing of a ship. The canal is threatened by low water levels during droughts.

Overview

All data

86 statements · 21% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Part of: Seven Wonders of the Modern World
Members / parts: Panama Canal locks
Has effect: Panamax
Connects with: Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Length: 82 km
Opened: August 15, 1914
Commissioned by: Compagnie universelle du canal interocéanique de Panama
Start point: Atlantic Ocean coordinates: 9.3883°N, 79.9194°W
Destination point: Pacific Ocean coordinates: 8.9000°N, 79.5333°W
Heritage designation: Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
State of use: in use

On other databases

61 identifiers linking Panama Canal across the web's reference databases

9.1200, -79.7500OpenStreetMap ↗

Data quality

statements

21%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 30, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Panama Canal (Q7350). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/panama-canal-Q7350