[bombcar]

The sea level is the low side. The lake is the high side - which works great until the supply of lake water dries up.

The obvious solution is a sea-level tunnel a hundred miles long. Probably cheap. ;)

[ianburrell]

There has been proposed canal in Nicaragua. It would be 170 miles long and have locks to reach Lake Nicaragua.

Chinese company got concession to build decade ago, but didn't do anything and then went out of business.

[elif]

i dunno about tunnel... i am not a digger but I don't think digging 26 meters (highest point of canal) would require tunneling... just dredging.

[aidenn0]

You'd have to deal with the Chagres (assuming the current drought ends) as well.

The original excavation was done mostly dry and massive by any standards: 27kt of dynamite were used.

I'm also not a digger, but 26 meters of dredging over a 13km distance sounds crazy expensive. You would have to also widen the valley to prevent landslides into the canal.