NAME________________
Panama Canal Webquest
Write your answers on this paper! Work hard and try to finish before the end of the period. The more you get
done, the more points you will earn!
For this activity, don’t worry about writing in complete sentences.
First, you must define the following words: isthmus, canal, and lock.
Isthmus:
Canal:
Lock:
Second, read the information on the web site below and look at the map of the Panama Canal.
Panama Canal Map
Use the links below to find as many answers as you can!
PBS Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal
General Information
Panama Canal Museum
Panama Canal Gallery
1. Who was the first person to initiate building the canal through Panama and in what year did he/she suggest
it?
2. What country spent nine years working on a canal but never completed it?
3. What country was the United States first interested in for the canal?
4. In what year did construction start? How many years did it take them to complete the canal?
5. The Panama Canal links the Atlantic Ocean to the _________ Ocean.
6. The canal saves ships about _____________ miles by not having to sail around ___________________.
7. What U.S. President initiated the agreements for the canal to be built and visited the site in 1906 during
construction?
8. U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty in 1977 to turn control of the canal over to what country?
How long did the U.S. to officially give up ownership of the Panama Canal?
9. How wide is the canal?
10. What country controlled Panama when the U.S. decided it would wanted to build the canal there?
11. How long is the canal?
12. How much did the canal cost to build?
13. How many people died during the canal’s construction?
14. How many workers came from the U.S. to work on the canal?
15-16. How much money (tolls) does the canal make per ship? How much does it make annually?
17. About how many ships use the canal each day?
18. What is most of the money earned from tolls used for?
19. How long can it take ships to pass through the canal?
20. What are some examples of what ships are hauling when they pass through the canal?
D. Interesting Facts—Use this link!
21. What was the lowest and highest toll paid and what were they both paid for?
22. What is the fastest a ship has gone through the canal?
23. How much does each door weigh on the canal locks?
24. Click on Canal Virtual Tour on left-hand side and view pictures of the canal.
25. One fun fact on the Panama Canal is :
Extra Information: How the Panama Canal Works (No writing involved)
26. Click on Transit to see the passage of a ship through the canal.
27. Click on Operation to see how the locks of the Panama Canal work.
28. Click on Photo Gallery to see Canal, Historic, and Panoramic Pictures.
Extra Extra Information: Panama Canal-Live Camera