Panama Canal 2008/2009 - (Page 16) Panama Canal Expansion t h E BiG DitCh to GEt BiGGEr While the Panama Canal was under construction, one early reporter wired, “this canal is both a first and a last . . . man will never again build with such scope, such imagination. Who knew that one day ” the Canal would be too small to handle today’s maritime traffic and supersize ships? solution: Dig another Big Ditch. Come witness history in the remaking as Panama expands and modernizes the Canal, all in time for its 100th anniversary in 2014. Panama Canal locks C A R IB AN BE SEA Colón Cristóbal LIMÓN BAY On selected cruises, scene of a festive sunset deck party FUTURE LOCKS GATÚN LOCKS Three sets of locks raise your Holland America ship 85 feet to Gatún Lake New locks and channels will double the Panama Canal’s capacity. GATÚN LAKE Formed by an earthen dam, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world at 23.5 miles long Gamboa GAILLARD CUT A winding, 8-mile channel, “The Ditch” that breaches the Continental Divide PEDRO MIGUEL LOCKS Lowers ships 31 feet in one step to Miraflores Lake MIRAFLORES LOCKS Lock gates are the tallest in the system because of the extreme tidal variation in the Pacific Ocean FUTURE LOCKS New lock chambers will measure more than 1.5 miles in length, longest in the world. line BRIDGE OF THE AMERICAS This impressive mile-long steel arch straddles the Canal at the entrance to the Pacific Balboa Fuerte Amador (Panama City) ameri c 16 n ho lla d a e-brochures available online P A C FI CI OCEAN
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