Panama Canal #

Imagery credit: NASA., under PD

This shaded-relief perspective view - generated using topographic data from a space shuttle mission - shows the Panama Canal with the Pacific-side Gulf of Panama in the foreground and the Caribbean Sea in the distance.

Water levels are maintained along its length by three reservoirs, the largest of which is Lake Gatun, visible at the right center of the image.

Built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914, the canal extends for approximately 80 km (50 mi), and is widely considered to be one of the worlds great engineering achievements.