Which two bodies of water are linked by the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The canal crosses the Isthmus of Panama and provides a shortened maritime route between the two oceans. Ships entering from the Atlantic side use Limón Bay and Gatún Lake before passing through the Culebra Cut and descending toward the Pacific side. The canal’s locks raise and lower vessels because much of the route lies above sea level.

France began an unsuccessful construction effort in the 1880s. The United States later completed the canal, which opened to commercial traffic on 15 August 1914. Panama assumed full control from the United States on 31 December 1999 under the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.

The canal does not connect the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Its Pacific entrance is actually east of its Atlantic entrance because of the shape of the isthmus. This geographic reversal often surprises visitors studying maps of the canal.