512 



INTEROCEANIC CANAL. 



under water would be necessary. The exca- 

 vation of the earthy portions near the shore 

 on both sides can be easily accomplished by 

 dredging. The total material to be excavated 

 was estimated at 47,000,000 cubic metres, of 

 which 28,000,000 metres would be rock exca- 

 vation, including 6,000,000 metres in the tun- 

 nel. The total expense was calculated by the 

 projectors at 475,000,000 francs. Messrs. Wyse 

 andEeclus presented alternative plans by which 

 the tunnel could be shortened, or even done 

 without, but only by considerably increasing 

 the quantity of material to be excavated. To 

 avoid having a tunnel, it would be necessary 

 to make a cutting 87 metres deep in the pass 

 of Oulebra. 



A project for a canal with locks was worked 

 out by the same engineers during the sittings 

 of the Congress, and was favored by some of 

 the members on account of the difficulties, cli- 

 matic as well as financial, which they thought 

 would attend the execution of a tide-level ca- 

 nal. This modified scheme was similar in char- 

 acter to Blanchet's project for a Nicaragua ca- 

 nal. It was proposed to construct a dam at 

 a spot in the course of the Chagres where it 

 passes through a ravine, and one at a similar 

 spot in the valley of the Eio Grande, thus cre- 

 ating two lakes, which could be connected by 

 a cutting 72 metres deep at the deepest place. 

 These lakes would extend to within 22 kilo- 

 metres of Colon and 12 kilometres of Panama, 

 and would be broad enough for ships to pass 

 each other anywhere without stoppage, and 

 deep enough to give 10 metres of natural depth 

 at all points. Their plane would be 24 metres 

 above the sea, which would be reached by a 

 series of 5 locks on each side. The excava- 

 tions would amount to only 12,000,000 cubic 

 metres; the total expense was estimated at 

 428,000,000 francs. 



The San Bias route was first explored by 

 MacDougal in 1864 at the private cost of Mr. 

 Kelley of Philadelphia, and subsequently by 

 Selfridge. Wyse and Reclus also examined 

 the Isthmus of San Bias, and especially the 

 Pacific watershed. The indentation in the 

 northern coast formed by the magnificent Bay 

 of San Bias makes this the narrowest portion 

 of the Panama Isthmus, only 50 kilometres 

 broad. The water-parting here is near the 

 Atlantic coast, instead of close to the Pacific 

 as at Nicaragua and Panama. The height of 

 the Cordilleras and the disposition of the water- 

 courses in this region preclude the notion of a 

 tide-level canal. The canal by this route, ac- 

 cording to the surveys of Wyse and Reclus, 

 would have a total length of 53 kilometres ; 

 but the excavations would only extend over 

 40 kilometres, of which 16 kilometres would 

 have to be traversed in a tunnel. The exca- 

 vations would amount to 34,000,000 cubic me- 

 tres; the estimated cost is 475,000,000 francs. 

 The surveys instituted by Kelley make the 

 length of the tunnel only 12 kilometres. 



The examination of the portion of the Isth- 



mus of Darien where the sources of the Tuyra 

 and the Atrato Rivers are not far apart, by 

 Wyse and Celier, led to the elaboration by the 

 latter of a scheme for a canal with locks, whose 

 summit-level would be 50 metres above the 

 sea. It would be necessary to cut a passage 

 between the valley of the Coquirri, which the 

 canal would follow down to the Atrato, and 

 the valley of the Cue^ which it would occupy 

 down to the Tuyra, through a pass whose ele- 

 vation is 146 metres above the sea. To reduce 

 the excavations in this pass, a tunnel 1 kilo- 

 metre in length would be bored. The descent 

 to the ocean-level would be made by 10 locks 

 on the Atlantic side and 10 on the Pacific side. 

 The length of the line would be 220 kilometres, 

 but the excavations would extend over only 

 100 kilometres. The excavations would amount 

 to 65,000,000 cubic metres. The total cost 

 was estimated at 650,000,000 francs. 



A project for a canal without locks across 

 the Isthmus of Darien, from the Gulf of Acanti 

 to the Tuyra, was sketched by Wyse and Re- 

 clus. The most favorable route which they 

 could find for a tide-level canal was by way of 

 the valley of the Tupisa, an affluent of the 

 Tuyra, and its arm the Tiati ; but it would be 

 necessary to cross the Cordillera where the 

 elevation is 1,000 metres, by a tunnel about 17 

 kilometres in length. The excavations neces- 

 sary for such a canal would amount to 70,- 

 000,000 cubic metres. The estimate of the cost 

 is 600,000,000 francs. 



Another project for a canal d niveau was 

 presented by M. de Puydt, who stated that he 

 had found a passage in the Cordillera, whose 

 greatest elevation was only 46 metres, between 

 the Tuyra and Porto Escondido. 



The Atrato-Napipi route, which has been 

 very thoroughly explored by Selfridge and 

 Collins, follows up the Atrato River, which 

 always has a depth of at least 7*8 metres, for 

 240 kilometres, to the mouth of the Napipi 

 affluent. The canal proper commences here. 

 The distance from the mouth of the Napipi to 

 the Bay of Chiri-Chiri is only 45 kilometres in 

 a straight line. The direction of the route is 

 nearly east and west. The highest point is at 

 an elevation of 233 metres, and is found about 

 2 kilometres from the shore of the Pacific. 

 Two projects for a canal by this route were 

 submitted by Commander Selfridge, one for a 

 canal with 22 locks, and one for a tide-level 

 canal, with a double lock at the Pacific en- 

 trance. In the former the summit-level would 

 have an elevation above the sea of 42'7 metres. 

 The descent from the highest level, situated at 

 the confluence of the Doguado and the Napipi, 

 about 30 kilometres above the junction of the 

 latter with the Atrato, would be effected by 

 means of 12 locks through 7 levels, one of the 

 lifts requiring a series of 4 locks. The total 

 lift of the 12 locks from the Atrato at low 

 water would be 37 metres. The total descent 

 on the Pacific side is made by means of a con- 

 nected series of 10 locks. The summit-level 



