## The Missing Lake

The Panama Canal is an artificial elevator. It uses millions of gallons of freshwater from rain-fed Lake Gatun to physically lift 150,000-ton steel ships over the mountains of Central America and drop them into the Pacific.

### FAQ

**Q: Why does a drought in Panama cause Wal-Mart to run out of stock in Texas?**
A: Draft Limits. In extreme El Niño drought years, Lake Gatun loses water and the canal becomes shallower. If a fully loaded ship tries to cross, the bottom of the hull will smash into the canal floor. To prevent this, the canal authority forces "Draft Restrictions." The only way a ship can "float higher" in the water is to make the ship lighter. To make the ship lighter, the shipping company literally takes 2,500 shipping containers off the ship and leaves them on the dock in Panama. In a single stroke of bad weather, $100 Million worth of retail inventory is stranded, forcing Wal-Mart and Target supply chains into chaotic disruption, while ocean carriers jack up prices by 30% to compensate for the "half-empty" ship.