Can you believe that it’s been 100 years since the Panama Canal connected the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans? The historic significance of the canal is monumental, and we’re so happy to say Happy Birthday to the Canal and hope that there’s more than 100 more years of success.
Panama Canal Facts:
- Around 5 percent of the world’s traded goods pass through the Panamá Canal.
- The lowest toll to date to transit the Canal was just 36 US cents, paid in 1928 by the American Richard Halliburton to swim the Canal.
- The highest toll paid to date was from the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl in 2011 of 375,600 US dollars.
- Fluorescent lighting was installed in 1963, allowing the Canal to operate 24 hours a day.
- Highly effective sanitation measures that sharply reduced the deadly and debilitating effects of yellow fever and malaria among workers was critical to the success of the US construction of the Canal from 1904-1914.
- Over 1 million ships have traversed the roughly 80-kilometer (50-mile) Canal since the first ship passed through the channel on August 15, 1914.
Present Day Panama Canal
Panama Canal
