Cool. I'd apparently only ever been taught the actual function at a very high level. I also remember learning some of the history of the efforts (without a lot of technical detail.

I do remember hearing that the sea levels were different on each side of the canal.
https://www.yourpanama.com/panama-canal.html
"Not commonly known is the fact that the two oceans have different sea levels, and different levels of high tide. At the entrance to the Panama Canal, the Pacific Ocean can rise as much as 20 feet, but 45 miles away, the difference between high tide and low in the Atlantic is just three feet."

I don't remember hearing that the canal was recently changed/updated.
https://www.yourpanama.com/panama-canal.html
"THE NEW EXPANDED CANAL

On the 24 April 2006, then President Martin Torrijos, promised the expanded canal would make Panama a first world country. Initially the plan was for the new canal to open on August 2014-to coincide with 100 years of the canal's existence. Ah! but this is Panama and usual delays delayed the opening until 26th June 2016."

This is what Wikipedia says the upgrade did.

Unfortunately, I suspect there are a myriad of problems with that. Are we going to make good stuff, or the same ol' cheap crap that they make in China?

If we make good stuff, the price is going to be huge by comparison, and (I suspect) not enough people will be willing or able to pay a LOT more for quality than cheap, disposable crap. There are folks in America that make quality stuff, but it's much more expensive, and made in lower quantities, and likely doesn't sell as well because high quality, expensive stuff is niche.

If we try to make cheap stuff, the price is still, I suspect going to be higher due to all of the regulation and the cost of wages in the US. So who's going to pay extra for cheap crap just because it was made in the US.

[QUOTE=masraum;12074861]
I don't remember hearing that the canal was recently changed/updated.
https://www.yourpanama.com/panama-canal.html'


I don't remember the exact year that I took the pics above...but I think it was 8 years ago.
There was a huge amount of earth movers working on the other side of the 'old locks' preparing the 'new locks'
They told us that they expected to be using them within a year.

We need for Mexico to make more of the stuff we by from China. The lower shipping costs should offset the slightly higher costs in Mexico. Then the standard of living in Mexico goes up so they don't want to move to the US. Then Mexicans need lower cost labor from Honduras, Guatemala, etc to do the jobs they don't want to do and the Hondurans, Guatemalans, etc stay in Mexico because no language barrier. One problem solved! Next?

"Sun down on the union,
Made in the USA,
Sure was a good idea,
Until greed got in the way" - B. Dylan

From one of my favorite albums "Infidels" .... he wrote that 40 years ago....

Corporate greed .... all that matters is the bottom line and stock price.

Sam Walton would NOT recognize his "baby" .... as he rolls over in his grave :(.

Love the old Dylan albums!!!

"now they wanna grow it on the moon and eat it raw... I can see the day commin when your home garden is gonna be against the law"

Remember -It is the big corporate structure that has been taxed out of here that moved there.

Then there is the HUGE counterfeit problem!
I read the other day there is even counterfeit Beer coming disguised as PBR

The news lady on NBC last night said that the first thing people will notice by this bottle-neck is a shortage of appliances. (such as fridges and washer/dryers)

Sad that heavy stuff like that is still cheaper to buy from half-way around the world.

I saw a guy in a canoe in a lock on the Mississippi in Illinois. He was in the lock next to a HUGE barge. It could have crushed him like a grape.
I would have carried it around the lock before I got in beside a barge.

We usually had the whole lock to ourselves ... mebbe another bassboat. It was a "barge canal" in name only ... a project that was eventually killed and never completed. No effin' way I'd be in a lock with a barge. When they were in the St. John's river ... you kept yer distance ..... they'd destroy a 30' sailboat like a train verses a motorcycle .... and not even know it.

But it was cool going through that lock in a bassboat :)

OK, why is the Pacific higher than the Atlantic on either side of the panama canal? It would seem the water level would be the same at 45 miles apart.

I could Google it, but I know you guys know the answer.

One thought is that the Pacific is at a slightly different density than the Atlantic at the canal hence the height difference.

I'm guessing it's because of the tides.

Hmmm... that would make sense.

Probably why it didn't occur to me :D

No tide in the lower numbers

The St. John's river is a tidal river .... you know it's low tide when you're outta the dredged channel in a 30' sailboat and get stuck. Once we jumped out and pushed her off .... getting back on the boat was hard!

We learned it's better to drink beer and wait :D

Kedge away!

I suspect the discrepency in tides is due to the enormity of the Pacific.

Tidal force has more weight behind it on that side


You see the force focused in a place like the Bay of Fundy by the shape of the land, or a killer break, like Ft Point under the bridge

If there were no "tidal forces" .... I would think that all connected bodies of water would equalize to the same level. With the tides .... low tide on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus would occur while high tide was on the Pacific side, and then flip ...

Kedging? I had to look it up .... why kedge when you have beer ;)?

We were land lubbers .... with beer :D

Tidal force is generated by gravity of the moon