The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-05-16
BIG CANAL SHOWN
IN RELIEF MAP
jamestown Fair is Exhibiting Novel
Typographical Work of Pam
ann Canal.

the Isthmus of Panama as
it will appear after the great ditch
has been dug by Uncle Sam. A civil
engineer, c. II. Johnson, who is in
the employ of the Panama Canal
commission, is experimenting the
construction OF great relief map, a
fine piece of Typographical work
which covers sixth Of an acre near
one of the government buildings.
There is a popular fallacy that the
Pacific ocean il four feet higher
than the Atlantic at the isthmus, but
there is no scientific data to substan-
tate that proposition. The fact is
that in that latitude the moon fails
to make its impress on the Atlantic
ocean, while it gives the Pacific a
tide of twenty-five feet.
If one, starting out to comprehend
the situation, would get his bearings
it is necessary that he should under
stand at the outset that the ishmus
does not extend north and south as
he may suppose, though its hills are
a continuation Of the mountain
range which in South America is
known as the Andes and in North
America is known as the Rocky
mountains Nor does the Isthmus
run east and west as some maps
seem to indicate. The general d.
rection Of the canal extends from
Panama on the Pacific northwesterly
to Colon on the Atlantic. People
in Panama instead of loking land
ward to see the sunrise and out over
the Pacific to see the sun set, really
look eastward to see the sun rise in
an estuary of the Pacific, and see it
set on the land horizon to the west
Right here it may be said that the
topography of the country will seem
greatly changed after the canal has
been built, for it is part of the
SNHciue W uuiu tWo 81 cat udiAS, ouS
near either end, which will result at
the Atlantic end in the formation of
a lake covering about a hundred
square miles, flooding a country of
that area, to ttke up the waters of
the Chagres, and turning countless
hills into islands, while at the Pa
cific end another lake will similarly
take care of the waters of the Rio
Grande.
The Typographical map shows
the work of the French company.
Their canal started at Cristobal on
the Atlantic and extending to
point near Cation locks, nearly six
miles, is barely four feet deep now.
There were other bits of excavation
also, including some work at Culebra
nearer the other side.
The American canal may be brief
ly described thus: Starting at the
Atlantic there is dredged channel
some four and a half miles through
Limon bay from deep water to the
shore line. Then there are two and
a half miles o. moderate cutting
through low swampy land to Cation
hill where there are three locks each
27 Is feet high that lift a ship to
the summit level CT the canal. Once
above the locks, a ship finds herself
in the great artificial lake through
which a channel is bouyed This is
Lake Gat0n. She follows the bouy5
for twenty-three miles until she
reaches Gamboa, the point at which
the Changers, coming down from the
mountains. meets the lake. Just be-
yond this point she meets the next
hard cut, the beginning of the Guile
bra. This is eighty-two feet above
the sea level, the canals summit.
The whole length of the canal from
deep water to deep water is 1872
miles, while the length from shore
line to shore line is IL miles.
The heaviest cutting in the Guile
bra cut is between what is known a.
the Sc and SO mile points, but there
are three miles of deep cutting. This
excavation is through an indurated
clay. The deepest part of the cut is
290 feet and millions of cubic yards
will have TO be taken out.
Passing through this a vessel will
find itself at Miguel lock of 81 Is
feet and 3 Il miles from the en-
trance. She is dropped into a lake
formed by another lock of "a 2-3
feet at the Pacific which forms the
lake into which the Rio Grande
LOWS. This last lock is called La
Boca 1.-THE mouth. The trip across
the lake is of several miles and this
ends the journey.
All this is shown in the relief map
hills, valleys, water courses, lakes,
L