Panama Canal Webcam – Miraflores Locks on the Pacific Side

The Panama Canal Webcam looks along the Miraflores Locks, the two-step flight at the Pacific end of the canal. Both lanes run away from the camera toward Miraflores Lake, split by a center wall that carries the rails for the electric towing locomotives. Near the bottom of the frame a pair of closed miter gates crosses the water, their walkways railed in yellow, and a white building with a red tile roof and the canal authority’s emblem stands at the lower left. Between transits the scene belongs to maintenance cranes, workboats and the lawns and sheds beside the left lane. When a ship is in a chamber, its hull can come close to filling the 33.5 meter (110 foot) width, and the water in one lane can sit well below the other, exposing the dark concrete of the chamber walls.

About the Panama Canal and Miraflores Locks

The canal runs 82 kilometers (51 miles) across the isthmus and opened in 1914. Miraflores is the last flight of locks a ship meets on the way to the Pacific: two steps that together raise or lower a vessel 16.5 meters (54 feet) between Miraflores Lake and the sea channel to the port of Balboa. Each of the original chambers is 320 meters (1,050 feet) long and 33.5 meters (110 feet) wide, with 305 meters (1,000 feet) of usable length, and filling one takes about 101,000 cubic meters (26.7 million US gallons) of water.

Past the lake, the single-step Pedro Miguel Locks lift ships another 9.4 meters (31 feet) to the level of Gatun Lake. Inside the chambers, a large ship is held in place by as many as eight electric locomotives, two on each side at the bow and two on each side at the stern. The miter gates of the original locks stand 14.3 to 25 meters (47 to 82 feet) tall, and the heaviest leaves weigh 662 metric tons (730 short tons).

The canal’s expansion added a third set of locks. Cocoli on the Pacific side and Agua Clara on the Atlantic side began commercial operation on June 26, 2016, for ships too large for these chambers. Cocoli is not in this camera’s view; the Panama Canal Authority covers it with a separate camera.

Weather and Climate at the Panama Canal

Panama City, at the canal’s Pacific entrance, has a tropical savanna climate in which the temperature barely moves. January averages highs of 32.2°C (90°F) and lows of 21.4°C (70.5°F). April, at the end of the dry season, reaches 33.4°C (92.1°F) by day and 22.6°C (72.7°F) at night. The dry season runs from December through April, the months when the camera is most likely to show clear skies and hard shadows across the lock walls.

The wet season lasts from May through November. July averages 31.8°C (89.2°F) by day and 22.6°C (72.7°F) at night, and October 31.1°C (88°F) and 22.2°C (72°F). The year’s rain adds up to 1,959 millimeters (77.1 inches), most of it in these months. Wet season frames swing between bright sun, as on a clear October afternoon, and the flat gray light of an overcast August day, and a heavy shower can hide the far end of the locks from view.

Things to Do Near the Miraflores Locks

The Miraflores Visitor Center stands beside the locks, with four floors of exhibits on the canal’s history, its wildlife and how the locks work, an IMAX theater, and observation decks over the chambers. A restaurant on the top floor looks over the locks, so lunch can come with a ship rising past the window. Admission is charged, with a lower rate for Panamanian residents.

Casco Viejo, the old quarter of Panama City, was founded on January 21, 1673, after Henry Morgan’s attack in 1671 destroyed the first city, which dated from 1519. Its streets and the ruins of that first settlement at Panama Viejo are listed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Soberania National Park, created in 1980, protects 220 square kilometers (55,000 acres) of forest about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Panama City. Pipeline Road runs 17.5 kilometers (10.9 miles) north to south through it, and its bird list tops 400 species, out of about 525 recorded in the park. More than 100 species of mammals live there, and the Chagres River runs through the park.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

A second view of Panama, and two more canals where ships pass close to the camera.

• El Valle de Anton Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Panama Canal Webcam?

Both lanes of the Miraflores Locks, the center wall with its locomotive tracks, a pair of miter gates in the foreground and the far end of the locks opening onto Miraflores Lake. Cranes, workboats and the lawns beside the locks fill the frame between transits.

Where is the Panama Canal Webcam located?

At the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side of the canal, northwest of central Panama City. The locks connect Miraflores Lake with the sea channel to the port of Balboa.

Does the Miraflores Locks webcam have sound?

No. The camera publishes still images rather than a video stream, so there is no audio. The Panama Canal Authority swaps in a newer frame automatically, so a transit moves forward in steps rather than as smooth video.

Does this webcam show the Gatun Locks or the Agua Clara Locks?

No. Gatun and Agua Clara are on the Atlantic side of the isthmus, and this camera covers only Miraflores. The Panama Canal Authority publishes separate camera pages for Gatun, Pedro Miguel, Cocoli and Agua Clara.

What time do ships pass through the Miraflores Locks?

The order of traffic changes with demand, so no single timetable holds every day. Under a pattern recorded in 2005, ships moved from the Pacific toward the Atlantic between 6 am and 3:15 pm and from the Atlantic toward the Pacific between 3:45 pm and 11 pm, which made mornings at Miraflores a time of ships rising toward the lake. Treat it as a rough guide.

How long does it take a ship to cross the Panama Canal?

A transit through the 82 kilometer (51 mile) canal typically takes 8 to 10 hours once a ship is underway, and ships often spend extra time waiting for their turn beforehand.

What is the weather like at the Panama Canal?

Hot and humid all year. Daily highs stay around 31 to 33°C (88 to 92°F) and nights around 21 to 23°C (70 to 73°F). The dry season runs December through April, the wet season May through November, and about 1,959 millimeters (77.1 inches) of rain falls in a year.

Can you visit the Miraflores Locks?

Yes. The Miraflores Visitor Center beside the locks has observation decks over the chambers, a museum on four floors and an IMAX theater. Admission is charged, with a lower rate for Panamanian residents.

Source: Panama Canal Authority