Where and what is the panama canal?
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Located on the isthmus of Panama in the country of Panama, between the continents of North and South America.  The canal was built in the earliest part of the 20th century as a short cut for shipping traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
1170755
The handover\n \nThe Miraflores Locks are seen here in modern times, as a ship enters the locks from Miraflores Lake, on the last stage of her journey to the Pacific Ocean.The invasion effectively ended military control over Panama. President Mireya Moscoso took office on September 1, 1999 and was Panama's first woman in the job. The treaty came into force on 31 December 1999, and since that date the canal has been run by the Panama Canal Authority.\n\nThe handover was highly controversial in the U.S., and its passage was difficult. The controversy was largely caused by contracts to manage two ports at either end of the canal, which Panama awarded to a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, Hutchison Whampoa. Some contend that the company has close ties to the Chinese government and the Chinese military.[24] However, the U.S. State Department says it has found no evidence of connections between Hutchison Whampoa and Beijing.[25] Some Americans were also wary of placing this strategic waterway under the protection of the Panamanian security force.[26]
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An objective analysis of the effect of constructing a sea-level canal across Central America is attempted. This canal, unlike the present Panama canal, has not been built, though it is a feasible proposition. The canal would run almost north-south, and would be 50 miles long. Proposed routes are noted; these resulted from a joint study by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Panama Canal Co. in 1964. Extracts from their report are reproduced. In evaluating the report, the author takes account of some biological and physical features of the area, with particular attention to the potential effects of allowing mixing of Atlantic and Pacific biotas. The work of the Committee of Ecological Research for the Interoceanic Canal (CERIC), established to investigate the possible effects of building the canal, is reviewed. Finally, an alternative plan, involving the construction of a third, larger, set of locks on the present canal is presented, and the author concludes with the hope that ecological impact of canal building will be given as much attention as economic etc. when the decision to build, or not to build, the new canal is taken.
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try here\n\nhttp://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/documents/panama/JCIT/JCIT20.htm
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Bill Clinton essentially had nothing to do with the Panama Canal. In 1977, Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with Panama creating a timeline of handover, which was completed on January 31, 1999, while Clinton was in office. The treaty handing over the canal was signed and ratified well before Clinton even entered office, so there was nothing he could do to affect it, other than break the treaty. China was also completely uninvolved.\n\nAs for whether or not it has harmed the US, it's hard to say. Our transport ships have to pay to pass through the canal, but we gained a significant amount of international respect for pulling out of the country and it lowered the number of places our military had to keep a watch on.
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A. Various diseases hampered the construction project because many people died.  Yellow fever and Malaria were the most deadly of them, because before the cause of them was discovered (mosquitoes) they didn't know how to treat the disease.\n\nAlso the original French plan called for a sea level canal like Suez.  Unfortunately for the French the Panamanian landscape didn't allow them to dig so easily as they did in Suez, and the technology they were using in Panama was the same one as they used in Suez, which was all wrong.\n\nWhen the US got the rights to build the canal arising from the Hay - Buneau Varilla treat of 1903, they reengineered the plans and decided to go for a lock type canal, rather than a sea level canal.  They based this on a prior study from a French engineer.  They also brought new technology with them, for example Concrete.  Remember we're talking about 1903 here.\n\nAlso the US got a hold of the research that a Cuban medic called Carlos Finlay did on Yellow Fever where he discovered that mosquitoes were the vectors causing the disease, and the incubation time needed for the mosquitoes to transfer the disease.\n\nWith that the US drained swamps, and they fumigated the entire Canal Zone, along with the Panamanian Cities of Cristobal, Colon and Panama to get rid of the mosquitoes.\n\nB. Actually it wasn't a big deal when the Canal opened in 1914.  It was the smallest story on the front page news.  Remember WWI just broke out in Europe, so the news from the battlefront were more interesting than the first transit of the canal.  By the way it was done by the Steamship Ancon.\n\nNow regarding commerce and the military advantage it gave the US, it was a big deal.  Ships could now shorten the time it took them to go around the Cape of Horns in South America, and also for those ships that had to cross the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.  The US military could complement their fleets just crossing some vessels through the Canal.  Think about all the savings it brought to commerce, and the possibilites to the military strategists at that time.\n\nAlso until 1977 the Panama Canal was controlled by the US Military, not the US Federal Government as some still think.  The office handling the Panama Canal affairs was in the Pentagon, not the Secretary of Commerce.  After 1977 with the new Panama Canal Treaties (they were 3 treaties in one single body) The Neutrality Treaty declared the Panama Canal neutral in all times of wars and crisis, therefore now any ship couldn't be denied the right to go through the Panama Canal.  Although I don't believe that prior to 1977 the US actually denied transit except in WWII for obvious reasons.
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Panama. You americans are so bloody insular!
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(To my knowledge, this involved the panama canal. The only scandal I can think of was a debate over who really controlled it: U.S. or Panama.)\n\nThe course of Spanish-American War had highlighted the need for rapid access between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Foreign policy experts began to question adherence to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, an agreement pledging the U.S. and Britain to not take independent action in constructing a transoceanic canal in Central America.\n\nNegotiations began during the McKinley administration between John Hay, the U.S. secretary of state, and Lord Julian Pauncefote, the British ambassador to Washington. Initial bargaining was slowed by disagreements over fortifying the proposed canal and seeking other signatories for any agreement that might be reached.\n\nAgreement was reached late in the year after Roosevelt had succeeded the slain McKinley. The following points were approved by both nations:\n\n\nThe U.S. was authorized to construct and manage a Central American canal \n\nThe U.S. was to guarantee the neutrality of the canal and was authorized to fortify the area, if necessary \n\nThe canal was to be open to all nations; rates were to be fair and equal. \n\nThe Hay-Pauncefote Treaty superceded the earlier Clayton-Bulwer agreement and would be followed by the failed Hay-Herrán Treaty and the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, both in 1903.
1120735
The history of the Panama Canal goes back to 16th century. After realizing the riches of Peru, Ecuador, and Asia, and counting the time it took the gold to reach the ports of Spain, it was suggested c.1524 to Charles V, that by cutting out a piece of land somewhere in Panama, the trips would be made shorter and the risk of taking the treasures through the isthmus would justify such an enterprise. A survey of the isthmus was ordered and subsequently a working plan for a canal was drawn up in 1529. The wars in Europe and the thirsts for the control of kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea simply put the project on permanent hold.
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The United states Army corp of Engineers was the major builder, with lots of help from panamanieans and americans alike. It was built in the early 1900's (1904-1914)
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Although the concept of a canal in Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt collapsed, the work was finally completed by the United States, and the canal opened in 1914.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal
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Panama (Spanish: Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. A transcontinental country, its isthmus constitutes the last part of a natural land bridge between the North American and South American continents. It borders Costa Rica to the north and Colombia to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.\n\nPanama is divided into 9 provinces (provincias) and 3 provincial-level indigenous territories (comarcas indígenas). There are also 2 sub-provincial comarcas.\n\nThe provinces are:\n\nBocas del Toro \nChiriquí \nCoclé \nColón \nDarién \nHerrera \nLos Santos \nPanamá \nVeraguas \nThe provincial-level comarcas are:\n\nEmberá \nKuna Yala \nNgöbe-Buglé \nThe sub-provincial comarcas are Kuna de Madugandí and Kuna de Wargandí, which are part of Panamá and Darién provinces, respectively.\n\nThe culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo or mixed Spanish, Indian, Chinese, and African descent. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and by many in business and the professions. More than half the population lives in the Panama City–Colón metropolitan corridor.\n\nThe majority of Panamanians are Roman Catholic, accounting for almost 80% of the population. Although the Constitution recognises Catholicism as the religion of the majority, Panama has no official religion. Evangelical Christians are now estimated to be around 10% of the population. Other Protestant churches make up about 4% of the population. Other major religions in Panama are Islam (4.4%), the Bahá'í Faith (1.2%), Buddhism (at least 1%), Judaism (0.4%), and Hinduism (0.3%). The Jewish community, with over 10,000 members, is by far the biggest community in the region (including Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean). Jewish immigration began in the late 19th Century, and at present there are three synagogues in Panama City, as well as two Jewish schools. Within Latin America, Panama has one of the largest Jewish communities in proportion to its population, surpassed by Uruguay and Argentina, as well as among the largest Muslim, East Asian, and South Asian.\n\nAlso in regards to the Bahá'í Faith, Panama hosts one of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the world. Completed in 1972 in Panama City, it is perched on a high cliff overlooking the canal, and is constructed of local stone laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native American fabric designs.\n\nPanama, because of its historical reliance on commerce, is above all a melting pot. This is shown, for instance, by its considerable population of Chinese origin, who number around 150,000, or about 5% of the population. (See main article at Chinatowns in Latin America—Panama). Many Chinese immigrated to Panama to help build the Panama Railroad. A term for "corner store" in Panamanian Spanish is el chino, reflecting the fact that many corner stores are owned and run by Chinese immigrants. (Other countries have similar social patterns, for instance, the "Arab" corner store of France.)\n\nThe country is also the smallest in Spanish-speaking Latin America in terms of population, with Uruguay as the second-smallest (by almost 400,000). However, since Panama has a faster birth rate, it is likely that in the coming years its population will surpass Uruguay's.\n\nThe balboa is the official currency of Panama. Its ISO 4217 code is PAB.\n\nThe balboa has been tied to the U.S. dollar (which is legal tender in Panama) at an exchange rate of 1:1 since 1904, and balboas can be exchanged for U.S. dollars in Panama at any time at a 1:1 ratio. The balboa is divided into 100 centésimos(or cents); modern 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centésimo coins are the same weight, dimensions and metallic composition as the U.S. penny, nickel, dime, quarter and half-dollar respectively.
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you can try the following:\nwakepedia,cascoantiguo,panamalavieja,boquete.\nall start with www.\nalso you can read.\nwww.thepanamanews.com in english.\nthis should give you a head start in your reserach.\n\npanama,panama.
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Panama\n\nNote that this is also the southernmost country in North America, since Central America is part of North America.
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Canals which comes from a bigger "pool" of water.\n\nIrrigation water around here gets bug poison put into it, therefore not healthy to swim in and heavens for bids drink! Ours come from the Ochico Mountain range...
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The Río de la Plata (Spanish: "Silver River") — which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate (as in the Battle of the River Plate), or sometimes as the [La] Plata River — is the estuary formed by the combination of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River. It is a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America, extending 290 km (180 miles) from the rivers' confluence to the Atlantic Ocean.
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If you are referring to the Gaillard Cut widening, a project that began in 1992 and was completed in 2001, there were a number of contractors hired by the Panama Canal Commission and later on, by the Panama Canal Authority, to do all kinds of works, dredging, land removal, explosions, and so on.  Among those companies there was CUSA, a Panamanian company.  However, most of the work was carried out in house, including supervision of contractors.\n\nIf you are referring to Canal expansion with a new set of locks, there are no contractors considered yet, as the decision to go ahead with the project has not been made and requires of a national referendum for its approval.