the Panama Canal
/ðə ˌpænəmɑː kəˈnæl/
/ðə ˌpænəmɑː kəˈnæl/
- a canal through Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was built by the US and completed in 1914. The canal together with the area surrounding it, the Panama Canal Zone, was controlled by the US until 1999, when it was returned to Panama. The canal is 51 miles/82 kilometres long and of great importance to world trade.