The Panama Canal is the canal landmark that officially opened in 1914 and links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Panama.
The canal crosses the Isthmus of Panama using locks, an artificial lake, and a channel cut through elevated terrain. Ships are raised from sea level to Gatun Lake and then lowered again on the opposite side, rather than traveling through a sea-level trench.
France began an earlier construction effort in the 1880s, but the project suffered from disease, difficult terrain, and financial failure. The United States resumed work in the early twentieth century, completing the canal and opening it to traffic on 15 August 1914.
The Panama Canal is not a direct shortcut between identical sea levels in a simple channel; its lock system is the central engineering feature. It was under United States administration for decades before control was transferred to Panama in 1999.