How Did Spain Build The Panama Canal

In the early 1500s, King Charles V of Spain had the idea of an international canal. It was an idea thought to be impossible, but then it became reality. The Panama Canal was first initiated by the French, completed by Americans and now controlled in the hands of Panama. But the vision was brought to the world from Spain. The Panama Canal is a world-wide asset and was brought together by many different cultures and areas of the world.

The Panama Canal brings the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean together. It has made travel shorter and more convenient. Fifty miles in length and about forty feet in depth make up the canal that took a decade to build. It is considered to be one of the greatest engineering achievements in the world and is one of the

The equipment used in earlier attempts needed repair and malaria spread again. There was also yellow fever and the number of workers became less and less. These health problems were soon stopped by Dr. William Gorgas. He wiped out diseases by fumigating homes and cleaning water in the area. The removal of mosquito related diseases was a big step towards completing the Panama Canal.

Later on there was new equipment, methods, and growth for the Panama Canal. John Stevens, American engineer, took charge of the program in 1905. He built the Great Northern Railway in America and knew plenty about construction. Stevens learned about the canal and knew that a lock canal would be best for the terrain they were building in. Construction was on track until Stevens resigned in 1907, then Army Corps engineer George Washington Goethals became the leader of the project, as appointed by the president.

Goethals focused on the Culebra Cut, one of the biggest obstacles in building the Panama Canal. It was a nine mile excavation that never stopped and needed 6,000 men. It was a notorious danger zone. Workers dug in 100 degree weather with drills, dynamite and steam powered machines. There were many landslides and unpredictable dynamite explosions. This resulted in several deaths. This part of the canal still has mud slides, dredging is still an essential part of canal

These raised and lowered water levels. After this there was a lot more progress as the year 1913 grew closer. Although the outbreak of World War I delayed the ceremony. Steam engines came from both sides and met at the Culebra Cut. The Panama Canal officially opened August 15, 1914, by this time Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States. President Wilson sent a message that started the flooding of the canal, by the explosion of a dam. At that time the Panama Canal was the most expensive construction project in U.S. history. It is one of the great achievements of the 20th Century. The Panama Canal connects 160 countries and 1,700 ports around the world.

In total, 3.4 million cubic meters of concrete went into the locks, and almost 240 million cubic yards of rock and dirt were excavated during American construction. Of the 56,000 workers employed between 1904 and 1913, roughly 5,600 were reported killed. During the French undertaking over 20,000 people died. America spent about 8.6 billion dollars on the canal. This was one of the expenses for a very ambitious architectural