Life Along the Panama Canal

For over 100 years, the Panama Canal has connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. You can learn more about how locks work at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.  

Location: 
Gatún, Panamá
Location Data: 
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Photos

Over 100 years ago, Lake Gatun was created to feed the Panama Canal. You can still see the stumps of trees that used to grow here before the area was flooded
This ship that we saw passing through the Miraflores Locks was made in 2011 and can carry up to 7,934 cars!
My research team and I pose for a photo at the Agua Clara locks, which are on the Atlantic side of the Canal. We were waiting for the boats to pass so we could go fishing for our research
We passed by a huge barge carrying shipping containers full of items like clothes and toys. Some of these might even be bound for Tennessee!
Small fishing boats are anchored below El Puente de Las Americas, the Bridge of the Americas. It gets its name because it spans the Panama Canal, with North America to the north and South America to the south
Not all ships on Lake Gatún are big; cayucos, or dugout canoes like this one, are used by many small-scale fishermen
Many people, like this man, fish every day on Lake Gatún to feed themselves and their families. Here, my research partner Michelle, is asking this fisherman about what changes he's seen in Lake Gatun over the last 60 years
These big pools are used to recycle water flowing in and out of the locks, raising the boats up and down like elevators so they can pass through the Canal

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