Civil engineering meets geology: Panama Canal

given by Dr. Tony Waltham, travelling geologist.

Abstract:

A long and varied history of great canal construction extended throughout the 1800s, and included the first attempt at a canal across Panama, which failed in its early stages. It was therefore into the next century that that the Americans built the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914.  Construction of the massive concrete locks and of Gatun Lake both broke world records at the time, and were brilliant in concept and evolution. Complex geology, dominated by the horrendously weak Cucaracha Clay, created huge problems in the deep Culebra Cut, and these were overcome, in less than subtle style, by brute force and massive expenditure of machinery and effort. The Panama Canal continues to be a critical element in world trade, and recent completion of its larger locks assures its future.

View This Talk In The Members’ Section.