822 THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA. 



standard section for firm eartli liaving- a bottom width of 150 feet, a 

 minimum depth of water of 35 feet, and a top width of 269 feet. This 

 section is suitably modified for harbor sections, for sections in soft 

 o-round, for sections in rock and in hikes and wherever required bj^ 

 unusual conditions. These adopted sections would afford ample water- 

 way for the greatest ships afloat at the present time, as required b}" 

 the law creating- the Commission. 



The locks for this canal are great masonry constructions, having a 

 usable length of T-iO feet with a clear width of 84 feet, more than 

 large enough to accommodate any vessel now afloat or planned to be 

 built. 



Beginning at the 6-fathom curve in the harl)or of Colon, the canal 

 is planned to l)e excavated for a distance of 7 miles through the low, 

 marsh}' grounds in that vicinity to Gatun, where the line meets the 

 Chagres River. From that point to Bohio, about 17 miles from Colon, 

 a little east of south from the point of starting, the canal would be 

 excavated generalh' along the marshy lowlands through which the 

 Chagres River flows in that vicinity, cutting the course of that river 

 four or five times. This 17-mile section of the canal is a sea-level 

 section, but at Bohio is found a comparatively narrow place in the 

 valley of the Chagres River with I'ock outcroppings on one side and 

 at which a dam may be built. At this point it was the purpose of the 

 French company also to build a dam, but the Isthmian Canal Com- 

 mission provisionall}" located its dam at a site nearlv half a mile 

 downstream from that of the French dam. and proposes to build it 

 materially higher. 



GREAT DAM AT BOHIO. 



This dam would retain behind it the waters of the Chagres River at 

 an elevation varying from 85 feet to !M) or 92 feet above mean sea level, 

 thus forming what has been called Lake Bohio. It would back up the 

 water of the Chagres River for a distance of about 20 miles, through 

 about 11 of which the course of tlie canal would l)e laid. Lake Bohio 

 would constitute the summit level of the canal, and would be reached 

 by two great masonry locks built together, i. e., in series near one 

 end of the dam at Bohio, the lift of each one of these two locks being 

 45 feet as a maximum. These locks would be built as twin structures, 

 so that if an accident should happen to one side the other side would 

 still be available foi- use, and thus save the operation of the canal from 

 being broken. A great ledge of rock afl'ords an excellent site for the 

 construction of these locks. 



The building of this great dam at Bohio, with its top nearly 100 

 feet above the water in the river in its normal condition, is one of the 

 great works of the entire canal construction. As the safety and oper- 

 ation of the canal would depend entirely upon the stability of this 



