ENGINEERING THE PANAMA CANAL BY YVETTE LaPIERRE CONTENT CONSULTANT William Ibbs PhD University of California at Berkeley Ibbs Consulting Cover image A ship enters one of Panama Canal’s locks Core Library An Imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing com BUILDING BY DESIGN
CHAPTER ONE 4
A PLAN TO MOVE MOUNTAINS President President Woodrow Wilson pressed a small button in Washington DC in October 1913 It sent a signal thousands of miles through telegraph wires The signal went all the way to Central America When it reached Panama it exploded a dam holding back a river The river flooded a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans With the press of a button world trade suddenly became much faster Until then the trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific was long and dangerous Ships A newspaper illustration from 1913 depicts the moment Wilson sent the signal to Panama 5
