An Isthmian Canal Commission created by Congress published the routes steamships and sailing vessels had used in 1897. Ships followed the coast of South America around the southern tip to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal would cut thousands of nautical miles and considerable expense from military transport, commercial shipping, and pleasure cruises.
Records of the Panama Canal, National Archives and Records Administration
Western Hemisphere . . . Showing Routes for Steam and Sail, map accompanying the report of the First Isthmian Canal Commission, 1901
Exploring Panama
The Panama Canal awakened widespread interest in the region, but it was not only tourists who were curious. The United States had rights to control the Canal Zone in perpetuity under the 1904 treaty with Panama, and in 1923 scientists founded a biological laboratory there. Under a new treaty, ratified in 1978 with the consent of the U.S. Senate, the United States returned the zone to Panama in 1979. Yet the laboratory––now named the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute––continues its important work, expanding our understanding of biodiversity.
An Isthmian Canal Commission created by Congress published the routes steamships and sailing vessels had used in 1897. Ships followed the coast of South America around the southern tip to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal would cut thousands of nautical miles and considerable expense from military transport, commercial shipping, and pleasure cruises.
Records of the Panama Canal, National Archives and Records Administration
