Panama Canal Culture - Medicine http://centralamerica.com/panama/pancanal.htm Panama Canal Culture - Medicine History – Shorter travel & independence Economics – Jobs & money Government – Political relationships Geography – Transportation barriers Source: By: Jennifer Milano Hamilton Middle School

HISTORY Back in the early 1900s it was a long and dangerous trip around the southern tip of South America, but people needed to travel by ship to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific. www.classzone.com

HISTORY Isthmus of Panama There was a place only 30 miles wide, called the Isthmus of Panama, which would connect the two oceans…creating a canal would be a prosperous idea for the world. Isthmus of Panama

HISTORY Panama belonged to Colombia in the early 1900s. The United States tried to buy land on the isthmus from Colombia so they could build the canal. When Colombia said no, the US urged Panama to revolt. In 1903 Panama became independent from Colombia and allowed the United States to lease the land in Panama where the canal would be built.

Geography Example: The Rocky Mountain range in the United States is a transportation barrier to people going from California to New York. Transportation Barrier - It is a physical feature which creates a border or obstacle to pass through.

Geography The mountainous country of Panama is a natural barrier for ships trying to go from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (or the other way around). How do you get rid of the mountains so that you can dig a canal deep enough for large ships to pass through? Panama Canal

Geography The project used twelve million pounds of dynamite per year. Human-Environment Interaction: The workers used dynamite to destroy the mountains. This made it possible for them to bring in machines to start digging the canal. www.canalmuseum.com

Geography – Technology influences the environment. The invention of Steam Shovels made digging the canal possible. 1913 Steam Shovels meeting at Culebra Cut www.canalmuseum.com

Geography The Panama Canal is a Transportation Corridor. It shortened the trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Before the canal was built it was 15,000 miles by ship from New York to California. After the canal was built is was only 6,100 miles by ship for New York to California.

Think of all the economic areas that would be affected once the Panama Canal was created… Jobs are created Companies save money Trade increases and new countries can now afford to participate in that trade Cultural borrowing www.canalmuseum.com

Economics The Panama Canal has helped economic development by giving people: More job opportunities Access to more resources from around the world (global interdependence) Ability to make more money Ability to become involved in international trade

clear out places where mosquitoes could be found Doctor Walter Reed studied two diseases carried by mosquitoes during his time at the construction of the Panama Canal. There were rules to be followed during the construction of the canal to minimize the number who contracted these diseases. clear out places where mosquitoes could be found cover water supplies with nets all tents and houses were covered with nets new sewers were put in In 1906 eight out of ten workers had malaria. By 1913 only 7 out of 100 had the disease. Because of the working environment, two diseases spread rapidly and killed 25,000 workers. The diseases were Malaria and Yellow Fever. MEDICINE

Culture – Diseases & Medicine 1905 Yellow Fever Quarantine Station www.canalmuseum.com

GOVERNMENT – political relationships The French were the first to try to build the Panama Canal, but they had to withdraw due to lack of money and numerous deaths. The United States funded the building of the Panama Canal and after its construction the United States continued to control the canal.

Why have we built the Panama Canal??? The Panama Canal was built as a transportation corridor for the world to use. It has created economic growth and increased trade around the world. Link to live feed from the Miraflores lock.

TEKS addressed in PowerPoint 6.1: historical events influence contemporary events 6.4A: locate on maps and globes 6.5A: location, physical features, transportation corridors and barriers, influence on economic development and foreign policies 6.7ABC: interactions between people and their environment including the influence of technology to modify the environment 6.20A: understand relationship among science, technology and political, economic, and social issues and events