A canal about 80 km (50 miles) long, across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its construction, begun by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1881 but abandoned in 1889, was completed by the US between 1904 and 1914. Control of the canal remained with the US until 1999, at which date it was ceded to Panama.
A canal about 50 miles (80 km) long, across the Isthmus of Panama, that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its construction, begun by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1881, was abandoned in 1889 and was completed by the US, 1904–14. Control of the canal remained with the US until 1999, when it was ceded to Panama.