Introduction to the canal: The Panama Canal has a history of 200 years since it was started in 1880. It had been suspended several times and changed owners several times until it was opened to navigation in 1951. Today, approximately 12,000 to 15,000 mining ships from all over the world pass through the canal every year. The canal is 81.3 kilometers long. It starts from the entrance of Colon on the Atlantic side and goes south through the Gatun Locks to the widest part of Lake Gatun. Then it turns sharply east and arrives along a roughly southeasterly channel. The Gulf of Panama on the Pacific side. When ships pass through the canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, they first pass through the approximately 11-kilometer-long import channel in Limon Bay to reach the Gatun Locks. There are three consecutive locks in Gatun that raise ships 26 meters (85 feet) into Gatun Lake.