PUZZLE IN PANAMA — BOWMAN 411 



to be removed to create a sea-level canal and where there is no water 

 at high elevation to supply a lock canal. 



MOST STUDY GIVEN 4 OF 22 ROUTES 



Elimination of the patently impractical routes left four, outside the 

 immediate area of the existing canal, for further study — San Bias 

 (named for an area and an Indian Tribe) and Caledonia Bay, for either 

 a sea-level or a lock canal; Atrato-Truando (named for the two rivers 

 that it follows) for a sea-level canal; and Nicaragua (with Pacific 

 terminus at Brito) for a lock canal. Except for Nicaragua, the avail- 

 able field data were less than desirable to permit a satisfactory an- 

 alysis. Field surveys were, therefore, undertaken, using both ground 

 and aerial mapping procedures. Such ultramodern aids as two-way 

 radio communication between ground and air, radar profiling from the 

 planes, mapping cameras that take pictures at 1-second intervals, and 

 special ground altimeters provided much better data than were avail- 

 able before, so that the decisions that will be made as to these routes 

 should be correspondingly better. 



Whether San Bias, Caledonia Bay, or Atrato-Truando will be 

 shown to have potentialities comparable to Nicaragua, whose merits 

 have long been recognized, remains to be seen. However, a sea-level 

 canal at Nicaragua is probably ruled out because the necessary drain- 

 ing of Lake Nicaragua would deprive the country of an important 

 body of water and probably alter its climate. The lock canal, favor- 

 ably reported on in 1931 by the late Gen. Daniel Sultan, is still one 

 of the best possibilities if a supplementary canal at another location 

 than Panama is deemed necessary. Its cost now could easily be twice 

 the $722,000,000 estimated by General Sultan, and its safety from 

 modern weapons of destruction would be no greater than that of the 

 present canal, but such disadvantages are relative, and might, in a 

 comparison with other routes, be worth accepting. 



IMPROVING THE PRESENT CANAL 



Obviously, any new route for a canal must be far superior to the 

 present one to warrant serious consideration, unless, of course, we are 

 to have two canals, a possibility that cannot be ruled out and one which 

 it is understood has been considered in connection with some proposed 

 routes near the present canal. These w411 be described later in this 

 article, but first the proposals for improving the present canal need 

 to be considered. 



The existing Panama Canal has manj advantages. It has operated 

 successfully for over 30 years. Its length is comparatively short. Its 

 total lock lift of 85 feet is moderate. It has ample water supply. Its 

 terminals are established communities with efficient harbor and port 

 facilities. It represents one of our proudest national possessions, and 



