Which two oceans does the Panama Canal connect?

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The 82-kilometre waterway crosses the Isthmus of Panama, allowing ships to avoid the much longer voyage around Cape Horn at South America’s southern tip. Its lock system lifts ships to Gatun Lake and then lowers them toward the opposite coast.

France began a canal project in the 1880s, but disease, engineering problems, and financial collapse halted the effort. The United States completed the canal, which opened on 15 August 1914. Panama later gained full control under the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, with the transfer completed on 31 December 1999.

Although commonly described as joining two oceans, the canal’s Caribbean entrance is on the Atlantic Ocean side. The waterway does not run exactly east to west, so ships can appear to travel southeast when crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic.