Q 01/05

How long is the Panama Canal?

A) 25 km (16 miles)

B) 40 km (25 miles)

C) 82 km (51 miles)

D) 60 km (37 miles)

Answer · why

C) 82 km (51 miles)

It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, linking the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific.

Q 02/05

On what date was the Panama Canal formally opened?

A) 1 January 1915

B) 15 August 1914

C) 12 October 1913

D) 4 July 1912

Answer · why

B) 15 August 1914

The cargo ship SS Ancon made the opening passage, two years ahead of the target date.

Q 03/05

How high above sea level is the artificial lake that the canal's locks lift ships up to?

A) 26 metres (85 ft)

B) 100 metres (328 ft)

C) 40 metres (131 ft)

D) 60 metres (197 ft)

Answer · why

A) 26 metres (85 ft)

Gatun Lake was created by damming a river to cut down excavation, and was the largest artificial lake in the world when built.

Q 04/05

Which country began digging the canal in 1881 and gave up in 1889?

A) France

B) Spain

C) Britain

D) Colombia

Answer · why

A) France

Engineering problems and a horrific death rate destroyed investor confidence; the US took over in 1904.

Q 05/05

Which French diplomat, fresh from building the Suez Canal, led the failed French effort in Panama?

A) Georges Clemenceau

B) Jules Verne

C) Gustave Eiffel

D) Ferdinand de Lesseps

Answer · why

D) Ferdinand de Lesseps

He insisted on a sea-level canal like Suez, dismissing Baron de Lépinay's lock-and-lake plan that the Americans later adopted.