<P> The Panama Canal locks ( Spanish : Esclusas del Canal de Panamá ) are a lock system that lifts a ship up 85 feet ( 26 metres ) to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again . The original canal had a total of six steps ( three up , three down ) for a ship 's passage . The total length of the lock structures , including the approach walls , is over 1.9 miles ( 3 km ) . The locks were one of the greatest engineering works ever to be undertaken when they opened in 1914 . No other concrete construction of comparable size was undertaken until the Hoover Dam , in the 1930s . </P>
<P> The Panama Canal locks ( Spanish : Esclusas del Canal de Panamá ) are a lock system that lifts a ship up 85 feet ( 26 metres ) to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again . The original canal had a total of six steps ( three up , three down ) for a ship 's passage . The total length of the lock structures , including the approach walls , is over 1.9 miles ( 3 km ) . The locks were one of the greatest engineering works ever to be undertaken when they opened in 1914 . No other concrete construction of comparable size was undertaken until the Hoover Dam , in the 1930s . </P>
what does the panama canal use to raise and lower ships
what does the panama canal use to raise and lower ships
locks
locks