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The National Geographic Magazine 



toward the winter solstice. At the sum- 

 mer solstice its elevation above the 

 north horizon is 75 41' and 57 24' 

 above the south horizon at the winter 

 solstice. These conditions introduce 

 an approach to uniformity in the tem- 

 perature of the varying seasons, as they 

 also produce opposite prevailing winds 

 in different portions of the year. As 

 the direct rays of the sun tend to cause 

 the hot air to rise vertically under it 

 during those portions of the year when 

 the sun is north of the zenith, the pre- 

 vailing winds are southerly or south- 

 westerly, but when it is south of the 

 zenith the same causes make the pre- 

 vailing winds from north or north- 

 easterly. It is in this portion of the 

 year when at rare intervals the northers 

 blow into the harbor of Colon with such 

 severity as to require ships found in it 

 to put to sea for their safety. 



The year on the Isthmus is divided 

 into the dry season and the wet season. 

 The dry season covers the four months 

 of January, February, March, and April, 

 during which little or no rain falls. 

 The wet season is composed of the re- 

 maining eight months of the year, the 

 wettest portions being usually in May 

 and in October. The rainfall on the 

 Caribbean side — i. e. , at Colon — is con- 

 siderably greater than either in the in- 

 terior or on the Pacific side, its annual 

 amount usually ranging from about 85 

 to nearly 155 inches, with an average 

 of about 125 to 130 inches. In the in- 

 terior, as at Gamboa or Bas Obispo, the 

 annual precipitation varies ordinarily 

 from about 75 to nearly 140 inches, with 

 an average of 90 to 95 inches. The total 

 precipitation at Panama, however, may 

 vary from about 45 to about 85 inches 

 per annum, with an average of about 

 66 to 67 inches. As the average annual 

 precipitation in New York or Wash- 

 ington may vary approximately from 

 40 to 50 inches, it is seen that the wet 

 season in the Republic of Panama ex- 

 hibits relatively high rainfall, al- 



though not more than about one-half of 

 that which occurs at Grey town, in Nica- 

 ragua. 



During the wet months there are some 

 phenomenal downpours, with the effect 

 of turning rivers into torrents, and this 

 is particularly the case with the Chagres 

 River, the principal river of the Repub- 

 lic, which empties into the Caribbean 

 Sea about 8 miles west of Colon. Pass- 

 ing up this river from its mouth, its 

 general course lies southeast for a dis- 

 tance of nearly 30 miles to Obispo. Still 

 passing up stream, its course at this point 

 turns sharply to the northeast. From 

 Obispo for a distance of about 23 miles 

 down stream the course of the Panama 

 Railroad and the line of the proposed 

 canal follow the Chagres River to the 

 low lands adjoining the Caribbean coast. 

 In the other direction, however, both the 

 railroad and the canal leave the river at 

 Obispo and cut through the continental 

 divide toward Panama, the Panama end 

 of the canal being about 2Q miles from 

 Obispo. 



THE VARIOUS PROJECTS FOR A SHIP 

 CANAL 



At the present time the greatest in- 

 terest centering on the Republic of 

 Panama, aside from the remarkable 

 unanimity with which the people of the 

 Isthmus as a unit declared and secured 

 their independence through a single, ef- 

 fective but bloodless effort, is that which 

 attaches to the proposed ship canal con- 

 necting the two oceans practically along 

 the line of the Panama Railroad. The 

 project of an Isthmian ship canal is 

 almost as old as the discovery of the 

 Isthmus, for it is nearly 400 years ago 

 that the Spaniards themselves seriously 

 discussed this enterprise. As early as 

 1520 the Spanish monarch, Charles V, 

 directed a survey to be made for the pur- 

 pose of determining the feasibility of an 

 isthmian ship canal. From that time 

 until this the project of a ship canal 

 across the Isthmus has been actively dis- 



