The Miraflores Locks is one set of locks a ship passes through while transiting the canal.
The Panama Canal may very well be one of the most important man-made creations of the century!
Click here to see a slide show of a ship passing through the locks!
The 51-mile canal through the narrowest part of Panama saves ships two weeks of transit time and 8000 miles. As a boat traverses the canal, it will be raised up a total of 85 feet and then lowered back down to the other ocean. The entire process takes 10-12 hours.
A ship passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic first enters into the canal near the Bridge of the Americas. Because the ship needs to go so slowly in its approach, it is very susceptible to being blown off course by winds or currents. For that reason, it is guided to the entrance of the first set of locks - the Miraflores locks - by tugboats.
The ship enters into the lower chamber where it is connected to engines called 'mules'. A normal sized ship uses six mules, while a very large one might use a total of eight. The mules will not actually pull the ship through the locks, but will help guide it side-to-side so it doesn't smash into the sides of the canal. (Mules are so-called because they used to use actual animals to guide boats through canals in Europe. In Panama, they have always used engines.)
Once the ship is in place in the lower chamber, the gate behind it is closed. It is now in an enclosed chamber. Water from the upper chamber pours into the lower chamber, raising the boat a total of 15 feet.
Once the water level between the upper and lower chambers is even, the gate between the two chambers is opened and the boat moves forward into the upper chamber. The gate closes behind the ship, and water from the lake beyond pours into the upper chamber raising the boat an additional 10 feet. In all, the Miraflores locks will raise the ship 25 feet. Once the water in the chamber is level with the lake, the forward gate is opened and the ship moves into the lake.
In order to reach the Atlantic Ocean, the ship will still need to pass through two more sets of locks. It will reach a final height of 85 feet above sea level before being dropped back down on the other side.
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You can visit the Miraflores locks from Panama City. Ships passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic pass in the morning, while those heading west transit the canal in the afternoon. There is a visitor center at the MIraflores locks ($8 entry for foreigners) where you can see relics from the construction and an informational movie, as well as a bird's eye view of the passing ships from the observation deck.
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How much does it cost to pass through the canal?
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