No Bull | Panama Part Four

November 9

Welcome to the fourth part in a lengthy series of updates detailing my recent trip to the Panama Canal.

We are three updates in, headed for a fourth.

In Part One we had a Panama 101, covering the basic geography and history of the Canal - everything from Balboa’s discovery of the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 to France’s failed attempt as the Canal’s creation (and loss of tens of thousands of lives) and the United States’ purchase of France’s canal assets in 1902 for $40 million (equivalent of $1.4 trillion today).

Part Two focused on the Canal’s design and the vital role water plays in its operations. The Panama Canal operates without the use of pumps - powered entirely by the force of gravity.

Additionally, we hit on Gatún Lake whose water levels are at a near ten-year low, the lowest during a rainy season since 1965, which directly impact Canal operations.

And finally, in last week’s Part Three we took a deeper dive into the Canal operations, a field trip transiting the original Panamax locks, a deeper dive into Panama’s current drought situation and its impacts on Canal operations in the coming months.

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