Which waterway links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Panama?

The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Panama. The canal officially opened on 15 August 1914, creating a major shortcut for ships traveling between the eastern and western coasts of the Americas.

Rather than being a simple sea-level trench, the canal uses locks to raise ships to Gatun Lake and then lower them again. Gatun Lake was an engineering centerpiece of the original canal system and lies above sea level.

France began construction in the 1880s, but disease, financial problems and difficult terrain caused the first effort to fail. The United States later completed the canal, which it operated until control was transferred to Panama in 1999.

The canal has been expanded to accommodate larger vessels. The 2016 expansion added a new set of locks and created the category of “Neopanamax” ships, which are larger than vessels that could use the original locks.