The French attempt (1881-1889)
Ferdinand de Lesseps, fresh from building the Suez Canal, started a Panama sea-level canal in 1881. His confidence was misplaced. Panama was jungle, mountain, and disease. Yellow fever and malaria killed over 22,000 workers. The project ran out of money in 1889 and collapsed into one of the biggest financial scandals of 19th-century Europe.
The American decade (1904-1914)
The United States took over in 1904 after Panama declared independence from Colombia with US backing. Chief engineer John Stevens switched from sea-level to a lock system, solving the elevation problem of crossing the Continental Divide. Doctor William Gorgas attacked the mosquito populations that spread yellow fever and malaria. Chief engineer George Washington Goethals finished the job. The SS Ancon made the first transit on August 15, 1914.
The American era (1914-1999)
For 85 years the canal was a US territory, a ten-mile wide strip cutting Panama in two. Shipping boomed. Tensions grew. The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties set the handover for December 31, 1999. Panama took full operational control on that date.
The expansion (2007-2016)
By 2007 the canal was operating near capacity. Ships had grown larger than the original locks could handle. Panama approved a $5.25 billion expansion: a new parallel set of larger locks (Cocoli on the Pacific, Agua Clara on the Atlantic). The expanded canal opened June 26, 2016. Ships up to 366 meters long (Neopanamax) can now transit.
Key figures
- Length: 82 km (51 miles) ocean to ocean
- Lift: 26 meters over Gatun Lake
- Locks: Original three (Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, Gatun) + two expanded (Cocoli, Agua Clara)
- Ships per year: around 14,000 transits
- Water per transit: 200 million liters (now partly recycled in Neopanamax locks)
- Cost in 1914: $375 million (roughly $11 billion in 2026 dollars)
Where to see the history
The Miraflores Visitor Center museum covers the full timeline, from French failure to the 2016 expansion. Casco Viejo has the Canal Museum with original blueprints and photographs. Portobelo on the Atlantic side shows the colonial-era Spanish infrastructure that the canal replaced. A canal transit cruise lets you experience the engineering in person.
Frequently asked questions
The Panama Canal opened on August 15, 1914, when the SS Ancon made the first official transit. It had been under US construction since 1904, after taking over from the failed French attempt that ran from 1881 to 1889.
The French under Ferdinand de Lesseps (who had built the Suez Canal) attempted a sea-level canal in tropical jungle. Yellow fever and malaria killed over 22,000 workers. The company went bankrupt in 1889 after 9 years of work.
Panama assumed full sovereignty of the canal on December 31, 1999, under the terms of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties signed in 1977. The canal has been operated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) since then.
The 2016 expansion added a new set of larger locks (Neopanamax) parallel to the original locks. Ships up to 366 meters long can now transit, doubling capacity and opening the canal to larger container ships and LNG carriers.
