Working of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel, about 14,000 ships use the canal in a year. The canal is 48 miles long which acts as a waterway between North and South America by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Usually the ships had to travel for 13,000 miles which travels to the tip of South America and then to North America. The connection between the oceans is created by an artificial lake which is called the Gatun Lake. It is raised to a height of 85 feet above the sea level. If its 85 feet above sea level then how do the ships cross the canal?

The canal uses water lock system that acts like an elevator. When the ship approaches the first lock which is at sea level the gate is opened after the vessels entered the chamber, the watertight lock doors are closed by the lock-master and the valve is opened to allow the flow of water from the adjacent second lock chamber, 28 feet above sea level. Water flows through underground pipes into the first chamber until the water levels are equal. When the water levels of two adjacent chambers are equal, the water stops flowing and the valve gets closed by the lock-master and the watertight lock doors between the first lock chamber and the second lock chamber are opened subsequently. This process allows the ship to proceed to the second lock chamber. The first operation is repeated then between the second lock chamber and the third lock chamber, which raises the ship to the level of Gatun Lake. After the closure of the final valve and opening of the watertight lock door, the ship is raised 85 feet above sea level and is able to continue its journey to the Pacific.

The same process inversely is followed in order to send the ship back to sea level. At the Pedro Miguel Locks at the end of the canal, when the ship enters the first chamber, the watertight doors are closed and the valve gets opened on that lock chamber, allowing water to drain from the first lock chamber into the relatively lower second lock chamber. After the water level between the two chambers is in the same level, the watertight doors are opened allowing the ship to continue to transmit down. This operation of lowering the ship to sea level is completed after crossing the three chambers upper chamber (where the ship enters the lock), middle chamber and the lower chamber (where the ship exits the canal).