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National Geographic : 1911 Feb
Contents
THE PANAMA CANAL the supplies are shipped to the various subdivisions of the canal-work for which they were purchased, or they are placed in storehouses along the line for issue when required. It was only after these various yet necessary adjuncts had been provided and the forces for their operation were organized that the principal work in hand-the building of the canal-could be pushed forward with any hope of success, and too much praise cannot be given to those who conceived and estab lished them in a working condition. The Department of Construction and Engineering is divided into three con struction divisions. The Atlantic Divis ion embraces the engineering construc tion from deep water in the Caribbean Sea to include the Gatun locks and dam; the Central Division extends from Gatun to Pedro Miguel, and the Pacific Divis ion from Pedro Miguel to deep water in the Pacific Ocean. KEEPING THE FLOODS OUT OF CULEBRA CUT As already noted, the Americans con tinued the work in progress by the French in the cut through the continental divide, commonly known as the Culebra Cut, utilizing the French machinery until it could be replaced by more modern appliances. This is the most formidable part of the enterprise on account of the magnitude of the cutting, and also be cause of the difficulties attending it, due to the excessive rainfall and to the vary ing character of the materials encoun tered. The efficient and economical working of the plant requires that provisions be made for the disposition of the large quantities of water that result from the rains. Whatever water is not carried off by the streams enters the cut, either through direct fall over the excavated area or by seepage into it. Proper drain age of the cut is therefore an ever-exist ing problem, and two distinct phases are presented, viz: I. To keep out the water of the sur rounding country. 2. To rid the excavated area of the water that collects in it. A system of diversion channels accom plishes the first, and gravity drains and pumps solve the second. The canal line follows the Obispo River, which drains the area from the divide to the Chagres River. It has four principal tributaries, two from the east, the Masambi and the Sardinilla, and two from the west, the Mandinga and the Comacho. These are cared for by two diversion channels. On the east side of the cut the Obispo diversion has been constructed almost parallel to the canal and carried through a depression in the hills so as to dis charge into the Chagres about one mile above the point at which the canal line crosses the river. To the west of the cut the Comacho diversion carries the waters from Cule bra to the Chagres River through the old channel of the Obispo River. Through a hill between Haut Obispo and Bas Obispo, which sharply deflects the river, the French had built a tunnel for divert ing the flood waters, and this forms a part of the new diversion. The canal follows the Rio Grande on the southern slope of the divide, and its waters are cared for by a diversion chan nel constructed by the French. They also constructed a dam across the valley, impounding the waters, and the resulting reservoir supplies the settlements from Culebra to and including Panama. Dur ing the wet season the diversion channel carries the overflow from the reservoir. HOW THE SHOVELS WORK The French so planned the excavation that after the removal of the peak of the divide and lesser summits they could work a number of excavators simultane ously at several points, so that a succes sion of benches resulted, lying one above the other, each with the natural surface as the point of beginning. By working in the direction of the length of the cut, the face of the bank gives the longest cutting possible, reduces the number of times the excavator must be hauled back, and secures a satisfactory drainage ar rangement, since the cutting is carried up grade on either side of the summit. The Americans have followed this 161
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