The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was officially opened on August 15, 1914, finally joining the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans after 34 years of construction. Originally begun in 1880 by the French and then taken over by the United States in 1903, the building of the canal was one of the most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. Nearly 30,000 workmen are thought to have died during the construction, mostly as a result of malaria, yellow fever or landslides.

Panama is now responsible for the administration and upkeep of the canal, which is 80 kilometres long and takes around 8 hours for a ship to pass through. Swimming the entire length of the canal has been popular – the first people to swim its entire length were J.R. Bingaman and James Wendell Green, two Panama Canal employees who started out just a week after the canal opened. They only swam on Sundays and after work on weekdays (as they were still busy working) and took 26 hours, 34 minutes to complete.