1. The Panama Canal Greatest Shortcut on Earth!

2. U.S. Involvement in Panama The U.S. became interested in Panama in the mid-1800s; wanted to build a canal WHY? – Commercial value: Much shorter distance opens trade opportunities for U.S. – Military value: Would have been nice during Spanish-American

3. What the Heck’s an Isthmus? Isn’t the Atlantic in the East and Pacific in the West??

4. U.S. Tries to Start Construction In 1903, Panama was province of Colombia (kind of like Delaware is part of the United States) We offered $10 million up front (+ $250,000 per year) to Colombia to buy rights to build the canal Colombia refuses! – holding out for more money…

5. Roosevelt Furiously Responds… In 1903, the U.S. encouraged & supported a revolt in Panama Sent warships to prevent Columbian troops from intervening The revolt succeeded and the U.S. quickly recognized Panama as an independent nation

6. Construction of the Panama Canal Begins! In 1903, Panama’s new government signed a treaty allowing the U.S. to build the Panama Canal Construction began in 1904

7. What were some difficulties of a canal in this region?

8. By noon the temperature is around 100 degrees.

9. The average yearly rainfall is about 105 inches! Average rainfall for Middletown, De is around 42 inches! Flooding makes the ground like pudding, and you can sink up to your knees in mud.

10. It’s incredibly humid here! After it rains steam rises from the ground Your clothes are nearly always soaking wet

11. The Jungle grows at an amazing rate!

12. The terrain is NOT level!

13. Tropical diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria are spread easily by mosquitoes.

14. The Panama Canal: An Engineering Feat At least 40,000 workers carved the “Big Ditch” through mountains, rainforests, and swamps After 10 years of construction, the canal opened on August 15, 1914 Roosevelt called it “the most important action I took in foreign affairs.”

15. Latin American Reaction Although the canal helped to improve international trade, Roosevelt’s actions in Panama angered many Latin Americans In response, the U.S. paid Columbian $25 million For most of the 1900s, the U.S. treated the canal as its own property In 1999, the U.S. returned control of the canal to Panama

16. Some Fun Facts…

17. More than 922,000 vessels have used the waterway since its opening on August 15, 1914.

18. A vessel passing through the Panama Canal pays a toll proportionate to its size. The average toll is about $45,000

19. The lowest toll ever paid is 36 cents, paid by Richard Halliburton for swimming the Canal in 1928. On May 30th, 2006, the Maersk Dellys established a new toll record by paying $249,165.00!!

20. On average, a vessel will take between 8 to 10 hours to transit.

21. Although longer than 3 Statues of Liberty laid end to end, the current locks are too small. Many ships, known as “Pana- Max”, barely fit through…