"2011 Valentine's Day Cruise Stop" Colón by windoweb

Gatun Locks: The biggest locks in the Panama Canal are impressive and give great insight into the workings of this fabulous piece of engineering.

Due to the fact that all three chambers are connecting, we had the opportunity to see the entire process completed at one location, rather than in two different stages such as case with Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks. It takes approximately 2 hours for a vessel to complete the transit at Gatun Locks, regardless of whether it's heading northbound or southbound.

Awesome Engineering

We watched a ship going to the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific Ocean.

There are three sets of locks in the Panama Canal. On the Pacific entrance are Miraflores, with two chambers, and Pedro Miquel with one chamber. On the Atlantic is one set of locks with 3 chambers, the Gatun Locks. Ships are raised a total of 87 feet above sea level into Gatun Lake and then lowered at the end of their transit into the other ocean. A common misconception is that one ocean is higher that the other, but they are both at sea level.

Panama receives as much as 200 inches of rain per year. This was a determining factor in placing the canal there since 52 million gallons of fresh water is lost to the ocean on each transit.

Map of Panama Canal

As the capital of Colón Province on Panama's central Caribbean coast, Colón lies at the very heart of the country's rich history and innovation.

This important port town is less than an hour's drive from Panama's most historical attractions, so it's easy to fit in visits to sites like the Panama Gatun Locks.

• In a nutshell:Panama Canal - what a sight to see!