The Panama Canal officially opened in 1914, creating a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The canal's first official transit took place on 15 August 1914, when the cargo and passenger ship SS Ancon passed through. The opening shortened major ocean voyages by avoiding the long route around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.
France began construction in the 1880s, but disease, engineering problems, and financial collapse halted the original effort. The United States resumed construction in 1904 and completed the canal ten years later.
The canal uses locks to raise ships to Gatun Lake and then lower them toward the opposite ocean. The United States administered the canal for decades; control was transferred to Panama on 31 December 1999 under the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.