Quiz: The Engineers Behind the Panama Canal

One of the greatest and most difficult engineering projects you’ll ever read about is the Panama Canal Project—an endeavor riddled by clashing opinions, repeated failure, Yellow Fever, fraud, and bureaucracy. The persistence in overcoming the challenges were eventually rewarded by the successful construction of a canal connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans—a maritime shortcut that saves time and money in transporting goods through one of the narrowest points of the Americas. 

Engineers implemented state-of-the-art technology to lift giant ships to the higher canal level and then back to the lower ocean level on the other side. For the outstanding engineering efforts required to make it possible, the Panama Canal has earned itself quite a few nicknames, including the world’s greatest shortcut and one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Most of the underlying framework is hidden from view, as are the stories of the chief engineers who brought the canal into existence. Test your knowledge and see how much you know about who engineered the Panama Canal and how they did it.