Why was the Panama Canal a feat of engineering ?

The Panama Canal project was marred by Yellow Fever and Malaria during the early stages of development. This is especially true during the attempts by the French to build a canal across the isthmus. A major engineering feat of the project that was realized by the American effort was the eradication of the disease to protect the safety of the workers.

When it was finally discovered that mosquitos transmitted these two deadly diseases, a comprehensive...

The Panama Canal project was marred by Yellow Fever and Malaria during the early stages of development. This is especially true during the attempts by the French to build a canal across the isthmus. A major engineering feat of the project that was realized by the American effort was the eradication of the disease to protect the safety of the workers.

When it was finally discovered that mosquitos transmitted these two deadly diseases, a comprehensive effort to eradicate the illness was undertaken. Marshes, ponds, and swamps were drained and major fumigation efforts were enacted to eliminate the mosquitoes near the labor camps. The program was very successful, which allowed the construction of the canal to proceed.

When you think of the construction of the canal, two challenges needed to be overcome. First, the Chagres River, which was very unpredictable and subject to violent flooding, needed to be tamed. This was accomplished by creating the world's largest dam (Gatun Dam), which in turn created the world's largest artificial lake. The lake prevented the need to dig the canal in that area because it would be a major stretch of the canal route.

The other challenge was the drastic change of elevation throughout the selected path of the canal. A system of locks, engineering feats themselves, was constructed to overcome the challenge of elevation.  In other areas, 100's of millions of cubic yards of soil were removed through heavy machinery.  The soil was transported by an intricate rail network, which was also an engineering accomplishment in its own right.