Note XXXIV-18 — Chapter XXXIV · INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION. 1801-1887.

The exploration by Com. Lull, of the U. S. navy, established the existence of a practicable route for a canal with Lake Nicaragua as its summit level, 107 ft above mean tide. It was proposed to connect the lake with the Pacific by a canal 16.3 miles in length, from the mouth of the Medio River to Port Brito. The first 7.5 miles would require an excavation averaging 54 ft in depth, which would be the most costly part of the work. The plan calls for ten locks, and one tide-lock between the lake and the sea. The lake navigation is of 56 miles. The river San Juan would be improved by means of four dams; namely, at the rapids of Castillo, Balas, and Machuca, and at the mouth of the San Cárlos River, all of which places are suitable for dams. A short section of canal with one lock would be needed to get around each of the upper three dams. From the fourth dam to San Juan del Norte, an independent canal 41.4 miles long with 7 locks must be constructed, which presents no apparent engineering difficulty. The total length of the canal would be 61.7 miles. No tunnelling needed. The harbor of San Juan del Norte must be dredged, and otherwise improved, to insure that no water but that of the canal shall run into the harbor. Short breakwaters must be built to protect the entrances from the surf. Lake Nicaragua with a surface of 2,700 sq. miles, and a drainage area of 8,000 sq. miles, will supply 38 times the maximum possible demand of water. The depth of water would be 26 ft; the width at bottom 72 ft, and at surface 150 ft. The locks, 21 in number, with a lift of from 8 to 10 ft, would be 400 ft long, 72 ft wide. The cost was estimated at about eighty million dollars. U. S. Gov. Doc., Sen. Jour., 916, Cong. 41, Sess. 2; Id., H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 42, Sess. 2, i. no. 1, pt. 1, 670-8; Id., 3d Sess., i. p. 160, 462-5; Id., Sec. Navy Rept, Cong. 43, Sess. 1, p. 10-12; Id., Nic. Ship Canal Route, Cong. 43, Sess. 1; Lévy, Nic., 428-40; Nic., Gaceta, Aug. 20, 27, Oct. 22, Dec. 24, 1870; Oct. 21, 1871; Jan. 11, Feb. 22, July 12, 1873; March 21, June 6, Nov. 28, 1874; Id., Mem. Sec. Rel., 1871, 10-16, 29-39; 1875, xiii.-xiv.; 1879, xxvii.-viii.; Costa R., Col. Ley., xix. 17-34, 180-1; Id., Informe Sec. Rel., 1872, 2-5; 1877, 2; 1885, 4-6, 47-54; Guat., Mem. Sec. Rel., 1884, 6, 8, 9; Pan. Canal, March 5, 1883; Id., Star and Herald, Feb. 12, 14, 1883; La Estrella de Pan., Jan. 15, 1885; El Guatemalteco, March 4, 1884. It has been asserted that formidable obstacles exist to a permanent deep-water entrance at San Juan del Norte, owing to sand and other detritus carried into it by the San Juan River, rendering it shallow and dangerous. Gisborne's Isth. Darien, 8-11.