WHY DOES THE PANAMA CANAL REQUIRE LOCKS?
Oceans cover the whole world and land masses such as the Americas block of the interaction at the equator between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Whilst one Ocean is under the gravity of the moon the other is experiencing a lesser pull from the gravity due to Earth’s rotation placing one or the other oceans under the influence of the moon depending on the position of the moon over whatever Ocean and therefore tidal activities are not equal both side of the American continent at all times; ergo the need for locks on the canal. Even if engineers have blasted a gap with a H bomb there would have been very high currents flowing making it very unsafe for shipping unless the gap created was hugely wide.
No the Pacific side is NOT higher than the Caribbean side. Tidal differences and the pull of the moon may make the heights temporarily different, but the mean height is the same. The reason for the locks is that the Panama Canal climbs the central hills, through an artificial lake that is the reservoir for the canal (Gatun Lake), and back down again, in total for approximately 50 miles. The locks are there so that the water doesn’t drain from the lakes straight into the sea. The locks control the water.
