Which two oceans are connected by the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The canal crosses Panama at its narrowest point, linking the Atlantic Ocean through the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. Ships use a system of locks to rise to Gatun Lake and then descend again toward the opposite coast.

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 took full control of the waterway on 31 December 1999.

The canal greatly shortened routes between the Atlantic and Pacific, avoiding the voyage around Cape Horn at South America’s southern tip. Because the Pacific entrance lies east of the Atlantic entrance, the canal’s route and global geography can seem counterintuitive. The expanded canal opened in 2016 to accommodate larger vessels.