Panama Canal Gallery
By Panama Canal Authority
Last updated 2011-02-17
The Gaillard Cut as it is today
In 1915, the Culebra Cut was renamed the Gaillard Cut by President Woodrow Wilson, in memory of the engineer who had been in charge of the Cut but who had died just before the canal was completed.
The Gaillard Cut is one of the wonders of the Panama Canal, for it is a phenomenal feat of engineering. It cuts through Panama's highland region, and stretches over eight miles from Gatun Lake in the west to the Pedro Miguel locks in the south.
In the 1990s, it was widened from 152m (500ft) to 192m (630ft) along straight stretches, and 222m (730ft) at the channel's bends. This was to allow the two-way traffic of large vessels through the narrow channel.
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