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Did you guess correctly that Panama is the Boomerang Box's mystery destination?
The Boomerang Box and its ship joined the 13,000 other ships each year that pass through the Panama Canal. It's a great shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans!
Now that it has left Panama, the Boomerang Box will return to its homeport of Oakland, California. There, it will get some rest and be renovated after nearly five years of world travel.
While the Boomerang Box heads for home, let's see how you did on deciphering the Spring Fling clues.
Clue 1: I am a bridge between two continents and two oceans. To understand that statement, you had to be able to identify the continents on a world map. The Earth has seven continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia. Once you identified all seven continents, did you notice the thin 'bridge' of land between North and South America?
Clue 2: I am located 80° from Greenwich. Where is Greenwich? And how could a place be 80° from there? If you know how to use longitude to determine location on the globe, you could figure out that 80° means the 80° longitude line either east or west of the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England. If you used a map to see where these two longitude lines are located, you would have noticed that the 80° West longitude line goes right through that land bridge between North and South America. Do you need more practice with longitude?
Clue 3: Columbus said I was the richest discovery he ever made. If you used the Internet or an encyclopedia, you could have made a list of all the places Columbus visited during his travels. Reading further, you might have found Columbus' statement that Panama was his richest discovery… because of the huge plates of gold the native people there wore around their necks. You may have seen Panama in the news recently connected with Christopher Columbus: a sunken ship found last October off the coast of Panama is believed to have been one that Columbus used on his last voyage to America.
Clue 4: Without me, travel is very slow. If you have learned about the Panama Canal in school, you know that the canal was created to make travel faster. By cutting through the Panama Canal, ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean can avoid the long voyage all the way down the coast of South America and all the way back up. They cross right through this narrow point of land.
Over the next few weeks, we'll learn more about the Panama Canal, and about Panama's environment. But today, let's focus a little bit on its history and its geography.
As you can imagine, Panama's geography has played a big role in its history. Because it is a narrow bridge of land that separates the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Panama has been a crossroads of trade and transportation for many centuries.
Scientists believe that the first people settled in Panama about 10,000 years ago. These people fished, farmed, and hunted, and also made jewelry out of gold and beads. About 500 years ago, Spanish explorers arrived in Panama, and quickly settled there. They were attracted by all the gold they saw, and quickly conquered the native people.
In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, one of the Spanish explorers, crossed Panama to the Pacific, and discovered just how narrow the land was. A few years later, Panama City (which is now the country's capital) was founded on the Pacific Coast.
After that, Panama became a major trade hub, and an important part of the trade between Europe and the New World. Goods from South America would be shipped to Panama's western coast and then carted to its eastern coast to be shipped to Europe.
In 1821, Panama won its independence from Spain, but it became part of the government of its neighbor, Colombia. However, Panama's geography continued to rule its destiny. During the 1800s, a railroad was built across Panama from coast to coast. As you can imagine, the railroad was very successful: for both travelers and goods, sailing to Panama, crossing by railroad, and then continuing the journey by sea was the quickest way from East to West. For prospecters hurrying across America during the California Gold Rush, traveling through Panama was the easiest way to get there quickly.
By the late 1800s, traders had begun dreaming of building a canal. With a canal, ships could pass right through the area. Cargo and passengers would no longer have to be unloaded at one coast, put on a train, and then loaded onto another ship at the other side. A group of French engineers tried to dig a canal in the 1880s, but failed. But the idea of a canal was still very interesting to people from all over the world.
What happened next? Stay tuned for the next installment of the story of the Panama Canal!
Check out past Trade Topics entries!
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