What canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans opened in 1914?

The canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that opened in 1914 was the Panama Canal.

The 82-kilometre waterway crosses the Isthmus of Panama, allowing ships to avoid the long and hazardous voyage around South America's Cape Horn or through the Strait of Magellan. Its locks raise vessels to Gatun Lake before lowering them again toward the opposite ocean.

France began construction in 1881 but abandoned the project after engineering difficulties, financial problems, and high worker mortality from diseases including malaria and yellow fever. The United States took over in 1904 and completed the canal in 1914. The SS Ancon made the first official commercial transit on 15 August 1914.

A common mix-up is the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and opened in 1869. The Panama Canal was transferred from U.S. to Panamanian control at the end of 1999; its expanded locks began commercial operation in 2016.