4 ms·
One of the surprising things about the Panama Canal is how the sea level can differ between the Atlantic and Pacific sides. This depends not just on tides but o
by snowwrestler 7y ago
One of the surprising things about the Panama Canal is how the sea level can differ between the Atlantic and Pacific sides. This depends not just on tides but on salinity, weather, and even differences in gravity. The Panama Canal has locks to lift and lower boats through the central lake, but even if the entire canal was built at mean sea level, it would still need locks to accommodate the (ever changing) difference between Atlantic and Pacific sea level at any given point in time.
- plibither8 7y agoThen I'm inclined to believe this would have been a problem when building any canal across a considerably large landmass - such as the Suez Canal. Is it exclusive to the Panama Canal only?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- thinkingkong 7y agoNo the Suez canal has no locks, but the current changes with the tide, probably more affected by the larger body of water.
- a1369209993 7y agoAccording to the second paragraph at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal, it has a continuous current through the various segments, depending on tide and season. Presumably the water levels in the Mediterranean and Red Seas are close enough that the current isn't a problem in practice.