Betcha y’all didn’t know 250

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September 7, 1977, In Washington, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos sign a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century. The Panama Canal Treaty also authorized the immediate abolishment of the Canal Zone, a 10-mile-wide, 40-mile-long U.S.-controlled area that bisected the Republic of Panama. Many in Congress opposed giving up control of the Panama Canal—an enduring symbol of U.S. power and technological prowess—but America’s colonial-type administration of the strategic waterway had long irritated Panamanians and other Latin Americans.

[Handy Don 17,276]

We visited Panama in July.

If you only remember it as the home of the original canal, there is a lot to add to your knowledge.

It is a country working hard as a financial hub, as operator of a globally critical infrastructure component (recently massively upgraded for larger ships but facing constraints due to greatly diminished rainfall), as a still-learning democracy tackling extreme wealth disparity, as a shelter for indigenous people of Central America, and as a reluctant spectator to drug and human trafficking. So many contrasts. 

[Ed Kennell 46,897]

30 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

critical infrastructure component (recently massively upgraded for larger ships

I was there when the new locks were under construction.      

I stood and watched in awe as those eight electric locomotive mules on cogged railroads with computer controlled winches and steel cables kept  the large ships centered as they moved thru the locks. with only a couple feet of clearance.

 

T

 

This was one of the deadliest projects ever attempted by the USA with 500 lives lost for every mile completed.   I am thankful the USA has regained control of this critical structure

 

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Ed Kennell

[Handy Don 17,276]

We watched a large tanker move through a lock. Like watching a well choreographed dance!

The entire canal is fresh water, meeting the oceans only at the first and last locks. Gatun Lake not only provides the route for ships, it is the source of hydro-electric generation that powers the entire operation and beyond. Hence the lower water level not only reduces the number of transits allowed (at months-in-advance fees ranging from $2,000 for small vessels to $1M for large ones and up to $3.7M for a “last minute” reservation) but reduces generation capacity.

To offset this, Panama has aggressively installed solar and wind generation and is working on improved electrical distribution infrastructure. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Handy Don