Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a canal 82 km (51 mi) long that cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in Central America. The canal has a huge impact on shipping, as it removes the need for ships to travel the long and dangerous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn (at the southernmost tip of South America). The canal saves a total of about 18,000 miles on a trip from New York to San Francisco by sea.

The Future

Plans have been floated for a major expansion of the canal; a re-incarnation of the 1939 Third Lock Scheme, or something like it, is proposed {{ref|buzpan}}, in order to allow for a greater number of transits as well as the ability to handle larger ships. Current proposals are for a set of locks capable of handling ships up to 150,000 tons, over twice the size of a Panamax ship {{ref|pittimes}}.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Any such scheme is liable to be hampered by cost, as well as water supply issues (see above). Although the water issue could be addressed by disruptive work to the watershed, it is possible that water recycling could be used instead {{ref|mecheng}}.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~