Another great aerial photo from the Panama Canal V. I. P. Slides and dated 7-12-69 produced by the Panama Canal Graphics Branch. We visited Pedro Miguel last week and now we travel to the Miraflores Locks this week.  Wonderful aerial photo of the Miraflores Locks, the towns of Corozal and Diablo along with Albrook Field can  be seen in the distance.  Ancon Hill, Sosa and the Amador Islands are seen in the far distance.  You can make out Thatcher Ferry Bridge at the mouth of the Canal.  To the left of the locks is what remains of the Rio Grande River which was a key river back before the Canal was flooded.  To the right of the locks is a great view of the 1940's Third Lock project results which are now being used to help with the new locks being built in Panama.  Cocoli Lake as it was called in the days of the Canal Zone is the wider body of water in the Third Locks excavations.  We used to swim in that lake and some even water skied.  Kind of small for water skiing, but it worked.  Cocoli Hill is seen between  the Canal channel and the third locks excavation. Most of this hill will be removed for the new locks.

I will post the rest of the slides in the next few weeks to come.  Only a few more.

Below I captured an aerial shot off of Google Maps that shows the same area today.  I wish I could have gotten a better capture, but this will do.  Note that all the 1940's Third Locks excavation along with Cocoli Lake has been absorbed into the new lock project.  Much of Cocoli Hill has been removed.  When I toured the new lock site a few years ago, I was told that he old third locks excavation abutting Cocoli Hill would be mostly filled and what wasn't filled would be used for the new gate retraction area and to store lockage water so not to spill out into the ocean channel.  Saving water is a must with these new big chambers. If they spilled the water out each time a ship went through would mean using up valuable lake water in excess.