Panama Canal: Challenge of Connecting Two Oceans of Different Levels

Many would be surprised to know that the Panama Canal runs north to south to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, not east to west. By shortening the route and reducing the cost of transportation between the two oceans, the Panama Canal allows for lower-cost imported goods and commodities in many part of the world. (It saves almost 8,000 miles on a trip from New York to San Francisco.) By eliminating for the majority of shipping the treacherous route around the tip of Argentina, it has no doubt saved countless lives and millions of dollars in lost vessels. However, it is estimated to have cost some 30,000 lives in the two attempts