Geography of Panama

The Panama Canal delivered $2.5 billion to the national treasury for last year's operations, the government has said, despite record-low water levels that limited ship transits.

About six percent of global maritime trade passes through the canal each year, and the Panama Canal Authority earns money from tolls and services rendered to ships.

The Panama Canal, an engineering wonder allowing ships to travel between two oceans, is seeking to adapt to climate change after a biting drought has seen traffic and income dry up.

The canal relies on rainwater to move ships through a series of locks that function like water elevators, raising the vessels up and over the continent between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.