The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-09

tugs and cement barges running into Ga
tun. Although the rest OF the canal Will
have Il minimum depth of forty-iiVe feet
the Atlantic channel has been given only
a forty foot depth on account of the
fact. that the average oscillation OF the
tide Is only about one foot six inches
above and six inches below mean water,
with a. maximum variation of eighteen
inches. Should deeper channel ever be-
come necessary by reason OF Il much
greater increase in the draft Of ships than
Is now anticipated, II would he a simple
matter To dredgc to any further required
depth, apA that without any interruption
he built Off Colon to protect the canal
entrance and 10 make passage possible
even during the violent ''northcrs" which
sweep in at times during the winter
months
''rhc nine mile sea level channel at the
Pacific end has also already been mainly
completed, and III much the same way as
the Atlantic division. by dredging through
the swamps and bogS of the coast low
lands On both ends together. however,
between twelve and fourteen drcdges are
still ut work, some of them old French
machines and two of the present suction
form-big ocean steamers they look like
now in use in New York harbor
"a Gour-mile brenkwatcr is being
thrown out 10 ono of the small offshore
islands not on account of storms, for
they seldom blow on this coast and never
with any violence. but 10 prevent shoaling
Of the channel from silt carrying cross
ward completion.
"Thc most peculiar thing OF all about
the Pacific end of the canal, as compared
with the Atlantic is that here the tide
has n daily rise and fall of from twenty
to twenty-five feet, eleven feet above and
eleven feet below mean water. That
means nothing, us far as lock- canal Is
concerned, except that the 5O0-foot chan
mel viii be given a depth four feet great
or than that of The Atlantic entrance.
TO allow for the passage Of deeply laden
vessels at cbb tide
The real ditch digging part OF the work
Is at what has como 10 be known as the
Culebra cut. extending for the nine miles
from Bas Obispo to Pedro Miguel Here
the range of the Cordi!l.ras. which is the
connecting link between the Andes and
the Rockies. runs down to only Il little
more than 300 feet above sea 'cvcl. on
the Pacific side the slope is sudden. or
the Atlantic rather NOR gentle; bu; in
The nine mile thickness of the range
there was in the first place whole lot
of material to be taken,
"Thc proposition of taking Il 3O0-foot
of il down TO forty feet above the sea
The water surface is TO be at 81 feet but
the canal viii bc forty five feet deep
and to have the bottom of that slice full
300 feet wide. that is q good deai of
job. One hundred million cubic yards ot
rock and dirt, to be exact. one can hard
ly realize the magnitude OF the work
without seeing il with his own eyes,
at Culcbra and took oUt some 2i.00C. 900
cubic yards OF material When the Amcri-
cans took hold their operations weren't
quite so spectacular: Before going any
deeper they extended the cat 70 practical
ly its fun width That took several
years. Then they started down. They
won't make any official statements on
the istbmus now as to any probable
statcmeHts-and they aIc usually as ac
cura,c give only four years for The cE-
tire completion CT the Cul@bra work. AMI
that and the G.Iul Gan and lock work
last.
"Bstwccn the cut and the Galun dam
there w:ll hay" 10 oc it:t,e excavation 4
merely the loo.IS Of Of Il few knoIls
here anG there near .hc rise L the con
tiuon.al slope For the I"st cl:.ht lriIcs
in from Gatun there Will he no digging
at all: in and ncnr Bas Obispo at the
foot OF tho hills. the French did Il good
deal OF cNcavating which viii prove mos
useful. But for all Of the twenty three
niles of what Will he open lake tho work !
Is 10 all ntcnts finished, The hardest
digging here was simpler even than the
work on several canals which have been
built in the eastern states. There were
n couple OF rivers TO control. rivers which |
would rise higher than the canal cNcava- |
tons; but It was only matter Of two or
three feet. ana that was simple.
"'rha key pieces OF the whole canal aro !
the dams and locks-thc dam and double |
Hight al Mlraiores, thc twin singlc-llft |
lock at Pedro Miguel and. more than both !
Of thvac. the great dam and triple niSht |
ui locks at Gatun, The locks throughout |
ihc lluc OF the waterway Will he uniform |
the two minor dams are but lttle out OF
the ordinary. And so n general dcscrip- |
ilon OF the work and progress at Gatun |
should give a fair idea OF the whole work |
"Gatun Is the Atlantic water gateway |
of the isthmus. Here II Is that Two or 1
three good sized rvcrs-thc Chogrcs and !
the GatuDCilJ and several othcrS-pour
Ia together and swirl out between two |
low-lyinG ranges OF hills into the Carib- |
bean. Back OF Gatun the country spreads |
out for miles Of bog and swamp and sog- ,
Sy morass. the territory which VIII form |
the bed OF the new lake. Nature could |
hardly have designed better place for
"A gigantic dam and spillway and hight
Of locks.
Across the 1900 feet between tlosc Two
low ranges the dam is being THROWN
dam ll1 feet high and over "a third of Il
mile thick at It's basc-potbing more or
esS than a bis. easy hlll sqIarey across
The Wiley. II l. neither G.c largest nor
he most spectacular dnm ever con-