It’s no surprise that the Panama Canal is the highest-profile tourist attraction in Panama. And now that its expansion is complete, you can watch five years of progress in a two-minute video.
Since 2011, the Panama Canal Authority has been undertaking a massive effort to expand the Panama Canal, which originally opened on October 9, 1913. Project executives relied on EarthCam’s robotic time-lapse construction cameras to document each stage of the project. From March 2011 to June 2016, EarthCam’s cameras captured over a terabyte of image data for the expansion project, which were hand-edited into a cinematic time-lapse movie. It’s an amazing amount of visual information about Panama‘s most famous attraction and one of the world’s most impressive feats of engineering.
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And now, EarthCam is doing a huge favor for those of us who haven’t had time to watch every aspect of the expansion. To commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal Expansion, EarthCam released this 4K construction time-lapse movie, showcasing progress from March 2011 to June 2016. Progress was documented for this historic transportation channel by EarthCam’s robotic time-lapse construction cameras from 142 webcam angles. Watch over five years of progress in just two minutes with HD photos and panoramic imagery.
Time-Lapse Courtesy of EarthCam
The largest project at the Canal since its original construction, the $5.25 billion expansion will allow ships more than 2.5 times the size of the current limit to pass through the waterway. The doubling of the capacity will change the way the world’s shipping lines use their global routes and will allow for larger vessels that can carry nearly three times as many containers.
For more Panama travel inspiration, check out these articles and Panama travel tips:
• Top 10 Things To Do in Panama
• Contadora Island: Panama’s Pacific Vacation Paradise
• 5 Ways to Experience Portobelo, Panama’s Historic Old Port Town
• Taboga Island: A Perfect Pacific Island Beach Day Trip in Panama
Photo via Visualhunt