“The Land Divided, the World United”—The Panama Canal Story
By Awake! correspondent in Panama
“THE Land Divided, the World United.” For many decades, this slogan appeared on a seal of the Panama Canal. Bridging two mighty oceans, the canal has united the world in a certain way. And it has had a greater impact on your life than you may realize. Perhaps your car, household appliances, or even the food on your table traveled that route!
August 15, 1989, marked the 75th anniversary of the first transit of this vital waterway. However, the dreams, plans, and labor that made this 50-mile [80 km] water journey possible go centuries into the past.
After Columbus discovered the so-called New World, an era of exploration by the Spanish conquistadores began. Thus, Vasco Núñez de Balboa traversed the narrow Isthmus of Panama in the year 1513. Spurred on by stories told by local inhabitants of a “narrow place” leading to another sea, Balboa searched until he encountered the great western ocean.
A few years later, Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the southern tip of South America, through the treacherous strait that now bears his name, and entered that same great ocean. Magellan called it el pacifico, the peaceful one, in contrast with the turbulent Atlantic. The long, hazardous journey triggered a search for a more efficient route to the Pacific.
In 1534 King Charles I of Spain backed a remarkable proposition: a canal to connect these two great oceans! Though he ordered surveys to be made, the project was far beyond the technological capabilities of his age. More than three centuries would pass before the dream would be realized.
In the 1800’s the new technologies of steam power and railroads began to raise exciting new possibilities. Then came the California gold rush. Prospectors discovered a shortcut to California: sailing from the U.S. east coast to Panama, crossing the isthmus on foot or mule, and then sailing on to San Francisco! A railroad across the Isthmus of Panama became operational in 1855. Still, the idea of a canal lingered.
The Daring French Canal Project
Following his success in the construction of the Suez Canal, Count Ferdinand de Lesseps took steps to make the Panama Canal a reality. He headed a committee that directed the initial survey and obtained a 99-year concession from Colombia, of which the Isthmus of Panama was then a part. Work began on the canal in 1881. Expectations were high, since the canal would be only half as long as the Suez, and there was no water shortage or relentless desert sand to contend with.
But new enemies—the tropical jungle, huge hills of rock, unstable soil, and, worst of all, yellow fever and malaria—proved to be too much for the workers. The resulting labor problems, slow progress due to inadequate equipment, and mismanagement of funds forced the French to abandon their project after 20 years of work, an expenditure of 260 million dollars, and the loss of many lives.
Taking On the Challenge
Near the turn of the century, the United States was beginning to flex its muscles as a world power and soon focused its attention on Panama. During the Spanish-American War, it had taken the battleship Oregon 68 days to sail from California to Florida via the Strait of Magellan! This dramatized the need of a better East-West route. Realizing the practicality of a Panama canal, the United States purchased the rights to build it.
U.S. negotiations with Colombia, however, soon broke down. Panama then declared its independence from Colombia in 1903 and quickly granted the United States the rights to construct the canal and to have jurisdiction over the ten-mile-wide [16 km] strip that would follow its course.
Still, there were the old problems that had plagued the French—and some unforeseen new ones—to challenge builders as the work began anew. Each one was overcome in due time:
Disease: Yellow fever and malaria were rampant in that tropical land. Colonel William Crawford Gorgas, however, enforced strong sanitation measures. Coupling that with an all-out war against the disease-bearing mosquito, those sicknesses were virtually eliminated!
Labor: Panama was unable to provide the huge labor force needed for this project. The solution? Thousands of workers were recruited from the West Indies.
Excavation and Disposal Problems: The stubborn rock and unstable soil continued to be a problem. However, the decision to construct a lock-type canal rather than a sea-level canal greatly reduced the amount of earth that had to be moved. Where, though, was the excavated earth to be put? The building of dams to create lakes as part of the inland waterway disposed of much of the soil. The remainder was used for breakwaters, causeways, and landfill to eliminate swamps and marshes. The landfill provided areas for industrial and housing sites.
John F. Stevens, an experienced railroad man, was at the helm in those early days. Devices for transporting earth and movable railroad sections that could be shifted as work progressed proved very practical. Though Stevens later resigned, the methods he inaugurated continued to be utilized until the project was completed.
Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Goethals, a U.S. Army engineer, then was put in command, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt. Goethals’ background as an engineer proved invaluable in seeing the project through to the finish. The canal opened on August 15, 1914, and the system of locks proved not only successful but durable. Let us travel through the canal and observe firsthand how the system works.
A Trip Through the Canal
Contrary to what you might assume, as we go from the Atlantic to the Pacific end of the canal, we journey, not from east to west, but from northwest to southeast. (See map.) First we pass between the three-mile-long [4.8 km] breakwaters that afford us protection from the seasonal turbulence of the Caribbean Sea. Our ship anchors in these sheltered waters, awaiting its turn to transit the canal. When that arrives, we enter the Gatun Locks. In three stages, these will lift our ship about 85 feet [26 m] to the level of Gatun Lake. Each lock chamber is huge: 110 feet [34 m] wide and 1,000 feet [305 m] long, sufficient to accommodate almost all commercial and military vessels.
Here’s how the locks work: Water enters the chambers by gravity, lifting the ship. Electric-powered locomotives, or “mules,” tow the vessels to the right position within each chamber. Between such locks, the ships move on their own power through the canal.
We depart from the last Gatun lock into Gatun Lake, which at the time of its completion was the largest man-made body of water in the world. It is a masterpiece of water management. The abundant tropical rains were utilized not only to provide the waterway itself but to generate hydroelectric power for canal operation. Navigating through Gatun Lake, we see numerous islands. Before this tropical jungle was flooded, these were the tops of hills!
The canal narrows as the land rises sharply to the Continental Divide. It was here at Gaillard Cut that the greatest earth-moving project ever made up to that time was accomplished. Over 200 million cubic yards [150 million cu m] of dirt and rock had to be removed. Constant landslides frustrated progress, often burying railroad tracks and equipment. Today, men and equipment are regularly called into service to maintain the 500-foot-wide [150 m] waterway.
We pass through two more lock systems—called Pedro Miguel and Miraflores—until we have finally descended to sea level at the Pacific terminal of the canal. Our journey has ended. But for a number of ships waiting to transit the canal in the opposite direction, the journey is yet to begin.
Though modern methods of transportation have advanced rapidly in recent years, the Panama Canal still serves as a vital link in world commerce. Over 12 thousand vessels pass through it yearly, carrying some 145 million tons of cargo. No doubt for years to come, the canal will continue to be a place where one can find “the land divided—the world united.”
[Map on page 21]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
North America
Central America
Panama Canal
South America
[Picture on page 21]
On August 15, 1914, the ship Ancon made the first passage through the canal
[Credit Line]
Panama Canal Commission, Office of Public Affairs