Editing Panama Canal (section)

===Layout===
{{Panama Canal map}}
[[File:Panama Canal - Pacific Side Entrance.jpg|thumb|Pacific-side entrance]]
[[File:Administration Building, Panama Canal.jpg|thumb|Administration building]]
While globally the Atlantic Ocean is east of the isthmus and the Pacific is west, the general direction of the canal passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is from northwest to southeast, because of the shape of the isthmus at the point the canal occupies. The [[Bridge of the Americas]] ({{langx|es|Puente de las Américas}}) at the Pacific side is about a third of a degree east of the [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] end on the Atlantic side.<ref name="acptraffic">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |title=Panama Canal Traffic{{snd}}Fiscal Years 2002–2004 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201144112/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |archive-date=1 December 2005 }}</ref> Still, in formal nautical communications, the simplified directions "southbound" and "northbound" are used.

The canal consists of [[reservoir|artificial lakes]], several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of [[canal lock|locks]]. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American era as Madden Lake), acts as a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific is:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |title=Historical Map & Chart Project |access-date=3 September 2007 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905231130/http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |archive-date=5 September 2007 }}</ref>
<!-- These distances are measured as accurately as I can from a 1940 nautical chart of the canal{{snd}}U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey no. 955, May 1940. See the reference above. ~~~~ -->
* From the formal marking line of the Atlantic Entrance, one enters [[Limón Bay]] (Bahía Limón), a large natural harbor. The entrance runs {{cvt|5+1/2|mi|km|order=flip}}. It provides a deepwater port ([[Cristóbal, Colón|Cristóbal]]), with facilities like multimodal cargo exchange (to and from train) and the [[Colón Free Trade Zone]] (a [[free port]]).
* A {{cvt|3.2|km|mi|sigfig=1}} channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side.
* The Gatun Locks, a three-stage flight of locks {{cvt|1+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}} long, lifts ships to the Gatun Lake level, some {{cvt|87|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip}} above sea level.
* Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels {{cvt|15|mi|km|sigfig=2|order=flip}} across the isthmus. It is the summit canal stretch, fed by the Gatun River and emptied by basic lock operations.
* From the lake, the Chagres River, a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Gatun Lake, runs about {{cvt|5+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}}. Here the upper Chagres River feeds the high-level-canal stretch.
* The [[Culebra Cut]] slices {{cvt|7+3/4|mi|km|order=flip}} through the mountain ridge, crosses the [[continental divide]] and passes under the [[Centennial Bridge, Panama|Centennial Bridge]].
* The single-stage Pedro Miguel Lock, which is {{cvt|7/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, is the first part of the descent with a lift of {{cvt|31|ft|m|order=flip}}.
* The artificial [[Miraflores Lake]] {{cvt|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, and {{cvt|54|ft|m|order=flip}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].
* The two-stage [[Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores]] Locks is {{cvt|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip}} long, with a total descent of {{cvt|54|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip}} at mid-tide.
* From the Miraflores Locks one reaches [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] harbor, again with multimodal exchange provision (here the railway meets the shipping route again). Nearby is [[Panama City]].
* From this harbor an entrance/exit channel leads to the Pacific Ocean ([[Gulf of Panama]]), {{cvt|8+1/4|mi|km|order=flip}} from the Miraflores Locks, passing under the [[Bridge of the Americas]].

Thus, the total length of the canal is {{cvt|50|mi|km|order=flip}}. In 2017 it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two outer locks.<ref name="ACP">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |title=Annual Report 2017 |website=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2 April 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403001241/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2021 }}</ref>