256 



NICARAGUA AND THE ISTHMIAN ROUTES 



built between these points to accommodate the sudden growth 

 of travel between the eastern states and California, due to the 

 gold excitement. The total length of this canal from ocean to 

 ocean is 42 miles. Two distinct propositions have been advo- 

 cated regarding this canal. The first, for a sea-level canal, was 

 M. De Lesseps' scheme. The canal proposed by this project has 

 a length of 45.5 miles, a depth of 28 feet, and a bottom width of 

 72 feet. It was estimated that 75,000,000 cubic meters of ma- 

 terial would have to be moved, at an estimated cost of about 

 $170,000,000. The only object in excavating a sea-level canal 

 in preference to one with locks is to avoid the use of locks, but 

 this cannot be avoided on the American isthmus, owing to the 

 great range of tides in the Pacific. A sea-level canal, if con- 

 structed, would require the use of a lock on the Pacific side to 

 control the tides, so that the advantage of such a canal is small 

 when compared to the increased cost of construction which it 

 involves. For many }^ears this project was actively promoted 

 in France and vast sums of money were subscribed for its con- 

 struction. A large amount of work was actually done, the canal 

 being practically complete for seven miles on its eastern end, 

 and large quantities of heavy excavation made in the upper and 



^ 



1 



■0 



. 3gj* TT7 ~7~ ' • - 



f"V,r..~* \ '-■' 





' "" '.,'.„' - I 5 *' *' 



CALABRA CUT— PANAMA CANAL 



