Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. In this lesson, you will learn about the Panama Canal and the factors that led to its construction. Locate the country of Panama and click on the red star:

What do you envision when you think of a canal? Do you picture water or drainage? What about boats? Well, all of these are true. Canals are waterways that are created to provide access or irrigation to areas that would naturally be without. Below are examples of famous canals:

Suez Canal in Egypt

Image of a container ship entering the Suez Canal.

Source: colonization, Thinkquest

Erie Canal in New York

Image of a tugboat pulling a barge with large equipment on it.

Source: 03 Erie, New York Times

The Panama Canal

Image of a container ship that is passing through the locks of the Panama Canal.

Source: B1pm16, Central Intelligence Agency

You will note that each of the canals provides passageways for boats and access to land. Why do you think canals are important? Think about this question as you progress through this lesson.