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Canal Zone |
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Image From:
Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space
Center.
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Panama Canal Zone,
Panama, February 2001: Near the center of this north-looking image,
the forested area of the Panama Canal Zone can be seen.
The Panama
Canal Zone extends 5 miles (8 km) on either side of the Panama Canal.
The forested zone acts as a buffer for the canal to help prevent
erosion and sediment from clogging the canal. Most of the countryside
on both sides of the Canal Zone has been deforested to make way for
large ranches and the raising of cattle. Though some sedimentation is
occurring, dredging of the canal keeps the passage clear.
The Panama
Canal is 40 miles (64 km) long including dredged approach channels at
each end. With the Caribbean Sea covering the upper portion of the
image and the Pacific Ocean covering the lower portion of the image,
the canal traverses the Isthmus of Panama in a northwest to southeast
direction.
Gatun Lake, one of the largest artificial lakes in the
world, is visible at the north end of the Canal Zone. Panama City
(light-colored grayish area) is discernible to the right of the canal
at its southern entrance from the Pacific Ocean. In 1996, 15,000 ships
traveled through the canal, an average of 42 ships per day. Passage
through the canal requires 7 to 8 hours. more> |
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