The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-08-10
The Lakes Canal

A two-way ship canal between Lakes
Superior and Michigan, deep enough
for ocean steamers, could be built at q
reasonable cost and would divert to
this route and to Chicago at least sew
enty7fve per cent of the tonnage which
now goes through Sault Ste. Marie, ac-
cording to D. Chase Denison, Chicago
engineer.
After surveying the territory through
which it was proposed to build such a
canal, Mr.. Denison said that the best
place for the cutoff route would be
from q point near Au Train, Mich, on
Lake Superior, to the headwaterss of
the bay north of Escanaba, Mich, on
Lake Michigan.
1t was pointed out that any ship
canal from Lake Michigan south to the
Gulf of Mexico would require more
water than Lake Michigan could at
present supply. AS an example, the
engineer showed that the Panama canal
would be useless without the artificial
lake which keeps the canal full of wa
ter. And Lake Michigan, he said, is
shrinking. Since the government began
to keep records, the surface Of the lake
has been lowered several inches. Half
a century ago the lake was said to be
slightly less than 620 feet above the
surface of the Atlantic ocean and is
now said to be a little more than 61S
feet above the Atlantic. According to
! Mr.. Denison, the greater part of this
shrinkage has taken place during the
| last fifteen years.
"The water necessary for the Gulf
canal could be obtained from Lake
Superior" the engineer said Lake
Superior is now nearly twenty-one feet
higher than Lake Michigan, but the
bottom of Lake Superior goes down
many hundred feet below the surface
of the Atlantic. In many places in
Lake Superior it is NOT certain that
the bottom has been reached even at
four or five thousand feet, while Lake
Michigan is comparatively shallow even
in its deepest places. The many smaller
lakes in territory surrounding Lake
Superior are one to eight hundred feet
above its surface. They receive much
water, but have no surface river out
| let's. 1t is Mr.. Denison's belief that
these lakes have underground outlets
into Lake Superior.
The supply of fresh water from Lake
Superior and the smaller lakes that are
above and surrounding it will be prac-
tically inexhaustible, but only as long
as the large tracts of forests are al
lowed to stand. The future genera
tions, it was stated, will suffer in every
way if "this selfish generation is al
lowed to rob earth of one Of it's most
valuable resources"
Mr.. Denison said this excessive water
supply gives Lake Superior much more
than it needs, and in certain seasons
the oversupply goes down through
Sault Ste Marie into Lake Michigan in
large quantities. GAIL of this water
should come down the twenty-one foot
incline to Lake Michigan and would do
so were it not for a solid rimrock or
basin edge which holds it back" he
continued. "This rimrock starts on this
surface at point short distance west
of Marquette and continues east to
DcAAt otS. 4fAaAle n IOW place III L0e
rimrock at Au Train makes this point
the most desirable spot to begin the
canal"
The engineers observations showed
that there are few shallow beaches
around Lake Superior except IN bays,
channels and small river mouths.
Ninety-fve per cent Of the shore is
deep water one hundred to FIVE hundred
feet from land and consequently does
not give good footing for breakwaters
much further out.
At the proposed starting point the
soil is light and sandy fer slightly more
than two miles south from Lake Supe-
rior, averaging ten to fifty feet above
the level Of the lake, the report shows.
The next three miles are of rimrock.
fifty to seventy-fiye feet above the lake
level, and covered with a light sandy
soil. South If the rimrock the land
slopes down for distance of more