Facts and Stories
--> A ship traveling from
New York to San Francisco can save 7'872 miles using the Panama Canal instead of going
around South America.
--> In the fiscal year 1994 there where 14'029 transits, which carried
170.8 million long tons of cargo and paid US $ 419.2 million in tolls.
--> The highest Canal
toll was US $ 141,344.91 paid by the Crown Princess and the lowest toll ever paid was 36
cents by Richard Halliburton for swimming the Canal in 1928.
--> The average time spent in
transit from port to port (Panama to Colon) is approx. 8 - 10 hours.
--> Until Lake Mead was formed by the
building of the Hoover Dam, Gatun Lake was the largest artificial body of water in the
world.
--> During the Canal costruction days over 200 million cubic meters of material where removed. Placed on railroad flatcars it would circle the earth 4 times.