Canal Definition and Panama Canal History

Canal Definition and Panama Canal History

Learn the definition of a canal and how the historic Panama Canal connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across Central America.

Chapter 1

Moving earth and rising waters

Chapter 2

Engineering the impossible

Chapter 3

Biogeography and evolutionary oddities

Chapter 4

The cultural geography of languages and borders

Ch 2 · Engineering the impossible
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schopenhauer The salt pans of Bonaire

Sep 15

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Ancient Mayan white highways

schopenhauer The Maya constructed elevated stone roads called sacbeob to connect distant cities through dense jungles.

Sep 15

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Fun Fact

Panama Canal: Ships traveling through the Panama Canal actually transit from west to east to go from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Sep 15

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The sunken pirate city of Port Royal

schopenhauer Jamaica's infamous pirate haven sank into the sea during a catastrophic 1692 earthquake.

Sep 15

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Glossary
canal (noun)
An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships. Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the Central American isthmus.

Sep 15

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Quiz

How high do the locks of the Panama Canal lift ships above sea level?

Sep 15

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Gossip

Which historical trade route is coolest?

Sep 15

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Engineering the impossible
BETA

schopenhauer Build these impossible structures to learn how engineers conquered the region's wildest geography.

Sep 15

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schopenhauer The gravity-defying Panama Canal

Sep 15

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Quiz

Which body of water does the Panama Canal bypass to save ships from sailing around South America?

Sep 15

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schopenhauer The sunken pirate city of Port Royal

Sep 15

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Quiz

What gives the salt evaporation ponds of Bonaire their striking pink color?

Sep 15

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schopenhauer Ancient Mayan white highways

Sep 15

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Quiz

What physical phenomenon caused Port Royal's sandy ground to sink during the 1692 earthquake?

Sep 15

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Quiz

What catastrophic event caused the pirate haven of Port Royal, Jamaica, to sink in 1692?

Sep 15

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Quiz

Which iconic pink-colored bird relies on Bonaire's salt pans for food?

Sep 15

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Quiz

What are 'sacbeob,' the ancient roads built by the Maya, primarily made of?

Sep 15

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Quiz

Why did the ancient Maya coat their elevated stone highways in white plaster?

Sep 15