Gatún Locks

Lonely Planet review

The Gatún Locks raise southbound ships 29.5m (96.7ft) from Caribbean waters to the level of Lago Gatún. From there, ships travel 37km (23mi) to the Pedro Miguel Locks, which lower southbound ships 9.3m (30.5ft) to Lago Miraflores, a small body of water that separates the two sets of Pacific locks. The ships are lowered to sea level at the Miraflores Locks.

Not only are the Gatún Locks the largest of the three sets, but their size is simply mind-boggling. In his superlative book, The Path Between the Seas , David McCullough notes that if stood on its end, a single lock would have been the tallest structure on Earth at the time it was built, taller by several meters than even the Eiffel Tower. Each chamber could have accommodated the Titanic with plenty of room to spare.