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Engineering Triumph That Forged a Nation: Panama Canal Turns 100

Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal, the 48-mile waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Image: Gatun locks looking toward Atlantic entrance of canal, showing tugs, dredges, and barges ready for first lockage from sea level up into Lake Gatun at the Panama Canal
Gatun locks looking toward Atlantic entrance of canal, showing tugs, dredges, and barges ready for first lockage from sea level up into Lake Gatun at the Panama Canal, circa 1913.Library of Congress