1)The Panama Canal is a canal for ships and a is a key conduit for international maritime trade that connects

the Pacific
Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

2)The canal crosses the country of Panama that is in the Central America continent ,between Colombia and Costa Rica.
Before the Panama Canal was built, the ships had to cross Cape Horn,in the Southernmost of South America. The distance
saved with the Panama Canal was thousands of miles.

3)It was built between 1880 and 1914.The construction durind 34 years.

4)The Europeans and later the Americans dreamed of building a ship canal.
The Industrial Revolution brought the means to do so.
The French were the first to attempt the project under Ferdinand de Lesseps,
the engineer who had planned the construction of the Suez Canal.
Excavation began in 1882.
By 1888 the project failed for more causes:difficult terrain, climate, tropical disease, lack of funds.Then the United States
started to show interest in the Canal.
United States try to buy the territory in Panama.But Panama was not an independent state.
To obtain the rights to the territory, the United States had to negotiate with Colombia.
In 1903 Panama signed a treaty with the United States giving permission for the canal project.
Work began in 1904, conducted by the U.S. military genius, and ended August 3, 1914, following the plans of Colonel
Gothal. The official opening was postponed to 1920, due to the onset of the First World War.



































5)Structure of Panama Canal

Dams

Four dams were constructed to create the Lake Gatun and the Miraflores Lake.
-two small dams at Miraflores
-a dam at Pedro Miguel;
-the Gatun Dam that create the Lake Gatun.
The Gatun Dam is a hydro-electric generating station that generates electricity which is used to operate the locks and other
equipment in the canal.

locks
Along the route of the canal there is a series of 3 sets of locks, the Gatun, Pedro Miguel and the Miraflores locks.
Lungo il percorso del canale vi una serie di 3 set di serrature, il Gatun, Pedro Miguel e le chiuse di Miraflores.
- At Gatun there are 2 parallel sets of locks each consisting of 3 flights. This set of locks lift ships a total of 26 metres. The
locks are constructed from concrete. Al Gatun ci sono 2 set parallele di blocchi ognuno composto da 3 voli. Questa serie di serrature sollevare
navi per un totale di 26 metri.
The Gatun locks were constructed with a width of 33 meters. Le serrature Gatun sono stati infine costruiti con una larghezza di 33 metri.
- The Pedro Miguel set of locks are the smallest of the Panama Canal Locks and have only one flight that raises or lowers
ships 10 meters. In comparison, the Miraflores locks have two flights that raise or lower by 16.5 meters serie di serrature sono la
pi piccola delle chiuse del canale di Panama e ha solo un volo che alza o abbassa navi da 10 metri. In confronto, le chiuse di Miraflores hanno due voli
che alzano o abbassno di 16,5 metri.
Each one of the locks is 300 meters long.
The total length of the Panama Canal Lock structures is over three kilometers, including the approach walls. La lunghezza totale
del canale di Panama strutture di blocco di oltre tre chilometri, tra le mura di approccio.

6)How the canal works
When entering the canal from Atlantic ocean side, we have three Gatun locks, which lifts the ship up 26 meters in 3 steps.
Quando si entra nel canale da Atlantic lato dell'oceano, abbiamo tre serrature Gatun, che solleva la nave di 26 metri in 3 passi.
Once the ship is lifted up, it reaches the Gatun Lake, which is a fresh water lake supplying water to the lock chambers,
enabling the ships to be lifted up and dropping down. Una volta che la nave sollevata, si raggiunge il lago di Gatun, che un lago di acqua
dolce che fronisce acqua alle camere di blocco, consentendo alle navi da sollevarsi su e cadere gi. Then comes the Pedro Miguel locks, where
it has one step, lowering the ship down. Poi arriva la serratura Pedro Miguel, dove si ha un passo, abbassando la nave verso il basso. The
ship transits through The Miraflores Lake, entering the Miraflores locks which again lowers the ship by two steps, thus
reaching the Pacific Ocean. La nave transita attraverso il lago di Miraflores, entrando chiuse di Miraflores che abbassa di nuovo la nave da due passi,
raggiungendo cos l'Oceano Pacifico. The two lock chambers accommodates two ships, in a lock gate.
Due navi di transito attraversano i cancelli di blocco. Le due camere di blocco ospita due navi, in un cancello di serratura.

5) The expansion project
The expansion project of the Panama Canal is a project that will double the capacity of the Panama Canal in 2014, allowing
the passage of larger ships. l progetto di espansione del canale di Panama un progetto che raddoppier la capacit del canale di Panama dal
2014, permettendo il passaggio di navi pi grandi. The work began in 2007, should be completed by 2014, the centenary of the
opening of the channel. I lavori, iniziati nel 2007, dovrebbero essere terminati entro il 2014, centenario dell'apertura del canale. The project
involves the construction of two new series of locks, parallel to the existing ones, at each of the entrances of the canal. Il
progetto prevede la costruzione di due nuove serie di chiuse, parallele a quelle esistenti, in corrispondenza di ciascuno degli imbocchi del canale. Each
series will have three rooms. Ogni serie avr tre camere. The project will lead to the doubling of the capacity of the navigation
channel by 2025. Il progetto prevede di portare al raddoppio della capacit di navigazione del canale entro il 2025.