111 years ago today, on July 24, 1914 (June 2, 1914 in the lunar calendar), the United States announced the opening of the Panama Canal. On July 24, 1914, the United States announced the opening of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal (English: Panama Canal; Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is located in Panama, Central America, and crosses the Isthmus of Panama. It is 82 kilometers long, 304 meters wide at its point and 152 meters narrower at its narrowest point. The canal connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, is an important shipping route, and is known as one of the seven engineering wonders of the world and the "bridge of the world". The Panama Canal is a sluice-type canal owned and managed by the Republic of Panama that cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Panama and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its length is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from one side of the coastline to the other, and about 82 kilometers (50 miles) from the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean (more specifically, the Caribbean Ocean) to the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. Comments: Americans occupy this geographical location and choke the hub of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans