The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-11-30
PANAMA CANAL PLANS
Greatest Width 1000 Feet and
the Depth IS Feet.
SUMMIT LEVEL ABOUT IS FEET

This II to BE Reached BY Flight Of
Locks ON Atlantic Side, One Lock
ut d Miguel and Two Other. on
Pacific Side-LArge Dam to BE Built
1t Gatun-The Locks Are All to Re
In Duplicate.
The isthmian canal commission is
sued a statement recently from Wash.
ington describing the general plan for
the construction Of the Panama canal.
1t Is explained that the type Of canal
proposed by the minority of the n
sult.Eg board is to form a summit level
about eighty-ive feet above the level
of the sea, which is to be reached by a
flight of locks built at Gatun, on the
Atlantic side, by one lock at Pedro
Miguel and two others at La Boca, on
the Pacific side. The locks are all to
be in duplicate.
The summit level will be formed by
the construction of a large dam at
0oSuA ~ q 01d OUC u Z GUN MI
guel. A second lake, with a surface
elevation of ffty-flve feet, will be
formed on the Pacific side between
Pedro Miguel and Panama bay by the
construction Of a dam at La Boca.
across the mouth of the Rio Grande,
and another dam between Soca hill and
high ground near Corozal.
From the Caribbean sea to the mouth
Of the Mindi river a channel is to be
eXcavated having a bottom width Of
500 feet and a depth Of forty-fve feet
below mean tide. From the mouth of
the Mindi to the Gatun locks the width
and depth are to be the same as from
the sea to the mouth Of the river.
The Gatun locks are to be built in
duplicate. The lift will be overcome
by a flight of three locks Of twenty
eight and one-third feet or by two
locks Of forty-two and One-half feet
each. The Gatun dam will reach from
a point nea the Gatun hills, on which
the locks are to be located, to the hill,
$500 feet westward, in which the spill
way will be built. The object Of this
dam is to form a reservoir In which
the floods Of the Chagres will be re-
ceived. Its area will be approximate
ly 40 square miles. Works for regu-
lating the level of the lake will be sit
uated in the hills that lie midway be-
tween two extremes Of the dam. They
will consist Of a system of gates con-
structed on foundations of concrete.
The gates will be almost counterparts
Of those used on the Chicago drainage
canal.
From the Gatun locks to San Pablo,
a distance Of about fifteen miles, only
required. The width of the canal will
be about 1000 feet and the depth for
ty-five feet. The growth for fifty feet
along the shores is to be removed.
Farther up the lake, as the amount of
excavation necessary to obtain a depth
of fOrty-flve feet increases, the width
Of the channel will be decreased, first
to 800 feet, then to 500. then to 800
from Obispo to Las Caspades, a dis
lance Of about one and a half miles,
where the Culebra cut begins.
The channel from Matachin to Bas
ObispO may be narrowed to 100 feet.
From Las Cascades to Paradise. a dis
lance Of A. miles, the width Of the
channel will be 200 feet. This Is the
most difficult work of the whole canal
construction. From Paraiso, the end
of Culebra cut to the Pedro Miguel
the channel will be 300 feet wide. The
Pedro Miguel lock will have a lift of
thirty feet and will be in duplicate,
with approach walls at each end. From
the lock for a distance of 1.S7 miles
the channel will be 800 feet wide and
will then be increased to 1000 feet for
a distance of 3.61 miles to SOsa hill on
the shore Of Panama bay, where the
Sosa locks will be built. These locks
will be in two flights, with lifts of
twenty-seven and one-half feet each.
and will be in duplicate.
A dam will be constructed across the
Rio Grande from San Juan hill to Sosa
hill, another from Sosa hill to Corozal
hill and a small dam from Corozal hill
to the high ground eastward. These
dams will form a lake known as Sosa
lake. 1t will have an area of eight
square miles and will be provided with
regulation works for discharging the
surplus water.
From the Sosa locks to the deep wa
ter in Panama bay, a distance OF four
miles, the channel is TO have a bottom
width Of 500 feet and a depth of fifty
feet below mean tide. The mean rise
and fall of the tide is about fifteen feet.
The Panama railroad will be relocat-
ed throughout almost the entire dis
lance from the mouth of the Mind1 river
to Panama, and some heavy embank-
ments will be required to cross certain
parts of Gatun lake.