Which canal connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean?

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.

This artificial waterway cuts across Panama’s narrow isthmus, linking the Caribbean Sea—part of the Atlantic system—with the Pacific Ocean. Its locks raise ships to Gatun Lake, about 26 metres above sea level, before lowering them again on the opposite side. The canal is about 82 kilometres long.

France began the first major construction attempt in 1881, but disease, engineering difficulties, financial problems, and landslides helped doom the project. The United States resumed construction in 1904, and the canal opened on 15 August 1914. It transformed global shipping by eliminating the need to sail around Cape Horn or through the hazardous passages at South America’s southern tip.

The Suez Canal is the usual mix-up: it connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and therefore links the Atlantic and Indian Ocean routes. The Panama Canal’s locks and freshwater lakes are what make its trans-isthmus route possible.