Help: What is the direction of the Panama Canal?

Question

Does the Panama Canal go west from the Pacific to the Atlantic or east from the Pacific to the Atlantic?

Answer 1

Yes it does!!!

Except more accurately between  the Caribbean and Pacific.

It uses a system of locks to move ships in both directions over the narrowest part of Panama.

Answer 2

The Panama Canal lies on the Isthmus of Panama which generally sits in an east-west direction in Panama. However, the location of the Panama canal is such that ships traveling through the canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean travel in a northwest direction while ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific head southeast!

Does this answer the question?

Answer 3

While the general direction across the Panama is SSW the canal is a series of locks and lakes. The canal consists of artificial lakes, several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of locks. An additional artificial lake, Madden Lake acts as a reservoir for the canal.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Panam...

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A ship enters Limon Bay and goes south.  It then enters the Gatum Locks and is lifted up to a very large man made lake called Lake Gatum. The ship travels SW through this lake and takes a 90 degree turn to the west and the another one to the south. It then enters a series of locks where it is lowered to the level of the Pacific Ocean.  It's a bit more complicated than that and you can read more here:

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Cana...

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Answer 4

go west (technically northwest) from the Pacific to the Atlantic. from P to A, the ship sails (ok, not sailing anymore, she isn't) in a smooth S-shape in her passing the canal, from the lower S to the upper S. the canal is the middle curve of S.

Answer 5

It's west from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The Pacific Ocean is on the west, while the Atlantic is on the east. So, it would be coming from the west if your source is in the Pacific Ocean.

Map

http://www.vacationstogo.com/images/maps...