Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway
in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific
Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across
the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of
the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken,
the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to
travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
By Fabio Hidalgo Valdez