Engineering Innovations

One of the most important technological advancements of the Panama Canal was the innovation of the lock system. The Panama Canal required changing altitude to pass ships through the canal so the lock system was necessary, but previous lock systems were designed for smaller ships.

Lieutenant Colonel Harry Hodges, Edward Schildhauer, and Henry Goldmark engineered the lock system. The lock system used man-made lakes to raise or lower ships to the appropriate sea level. This major technological advancement allowed the Panama Canal to be built and all ships to pass through. 

Along with solving the engineering problems of constructing the Panama Canal, the lock system solved the flooding problem. Gatun Lake is the artificial lake in the middle of the lock system. Water from Gatun Lake flows to the locks. This solved the problem of rain by allowing the water that was released to the ocean from Gatun Lake to be replaced by rain water and prevent flooding. Without this innovation, all progress on the canal would have been futile and the canal would have been abandoned.