Panama Canal

Big stick Policy

US government policy elaborated by Theodore Roosevelt : means to fight the countries which disagree with the US especially in central America

An isthmus

Narrow strip of land surrounded by water connecting different landmasses

Who first planned the Panama Canal ?

Lesseps, the french engineer who also planned the Suez Canal

How long is the Panama Canal?

Around 80km long

When was signed the Independance of Panama?

November 1903

Who dug the canal and how long did the construction take ?

Lesseps didn’t have enough ressources so the Americans dug it in the early 20th century. The construction lasted ten years.W

What is the main purpose of the Panama Canal today?

To transport goods from Eastern Asia to eastern USA, from Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean

What was the reason of the creation of the panama Canal ?

To get goods from the N-Eastern USA Manufacturing Belt to the West coast (from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific Ocean

What is the alternative concurrencing the Panama Canal ?

The Landbridge: a fast train from the west coast to the east coast (around 2x faster than the canal in the 2000s)

Around ½ of LA containers are sent by the landbridge

How high is the Panama Canal from sea level and how are the boats moved up to there?

It is around 30m above sea level, so the ships are lifted thanks to 2 series of locks

How are the locks are filled to lift the carriers ?

In order to fill them, a water tank is needed, so the Gatun lake was created artificially w/ a dam

→ at the time, it was the largest man-made lake in the world

Panamax (last century vs today)

Maximum size a boat can be to go through the canal

Before enlargement : 5,000 TEUs

After Enlargement : 10,000 TEUs

TEU

Twenty foot Equivalent Unit = 1 (small size) container

Used to know the quantity of containers a boat can carry

What was the disagreement between Columbia and the US and what did it lead to?

Columbia didn’t want to let the US rule over the canal, which was in their land, so the US helped panamanian idependantists revolt and be their own country, as long as they let the US rule over the canal

When did the US stop ruling over the canal ?

In 1999

Why did Panama decide to enlarge the Canal ?

→To be a more efficient solution than the landbridge which was concurrencing them, since the canal is a vital key business(1B $ a year so around 10% of their economy)

→Because the locks were too narrow for modern ships (10,000 TEUs)

How was the canal improved ?

• Deepened

• enlarged

• 5 days quicker than the landbrige

• more efficient

• New way to pacific ocean

• fit for 10,000 TEUs ships (400m)

The enlargement : decision, cost and time

75% of Panamanians voted that the enlargement was worth the 5B $

• 10 years of work (2007-16)