Chief Federal Canals in the United States Source (as of June, 1941): Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. Canals in italics are ship canals Sounds of North Carolina. Inland Waterway.. Atlantic Intracoastal System Cape Cod Canal, Mass.. Buzzards Bay-Cape Cod Bay....198% Inland Waterway, Md. & Del...Chesapeake Bay-Delaware River Inland Waterway, Va., & N. C. Norfolk, Va.-Beaufort, N. C. 1935 1903 (includes Chesapeake & Dela- (1) (22 miles).... Beaufort to Cape Fear River, 1932 Intracoastal Waterway Cape Fear River, N. C., to St. (1) Intracoastal Waterway Jacksonville to Miami, Fla. Michigan Intracoastal Waterway. Gulf Intracoastal System Intracoastal Waterway Sabine-Neches Waterway. St. Mary's Falls Canal, North. Detroit Rtrer.. Florida St. Lucie Inlet-Ft. Myers (includ- 97% 150 Christi, Texas. (D) (1) 94 % 77% 197.91 80 (a) 10 93.5 22 22 438.0 75 287 217.4 100 300 100 565.5 (b) 100 125 57.3 200 300 10 30 24.5 Pacific Waterways Lake Washington Ship Canal... (a) Width through Dismal Swamp Section, 50 feet. (b) Route via Harvey Canal. Alternate route through Plaquemine Lock, 639.5 miles. (c) Upstream Channel. (d) Downstream Channel. (e) Lock width for Locks 2 to 26, incl.; Lock No. 1 has chamber width of 56 feet. (f) Channel open to navigation. Construction under way to obtain full project dimensions. (g) Ninefoot depth available. Locks and dams completed but not all auxiliary works. (h) Project depth available. Work remaining acquisition of flowage easements. construction. (1) Project depths available except between Vancouver and Bonneville. This reach now under (1) Columbia River, Mouth to Bonneville, 300-500 ft. wide. Bonneville to Dalles, Ore., ample width in open lake. Completion status of Okeechobee, Houston Ship, Keweenaw, Warrior River, and Columbia River is as of Jan., 1941; the others are as of June, 1940. Cargo Traffic on Chief American Canals Source: Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, U. S. War Department IN. Y.State 1929 981 110 9 9 99.5% 128 125 7-9 72 200 1891 48 23 4 95% (h) 90.6 Value figures for the Detroit River and Sault Ste. Marie have not been compiled since 1938, Duluth-Superior valuations for the commodities, the U. S. Engineers Office states, were largely derived from daily or weekly prices current and from quotations by principal shippers, owners, and carriers, and represent valuations at Lake Superior ports. The valuations of all Canadian and foreign commodities were obtained from the U. S. Customs Service. Description of the Panama Canal Lake. Madden Lake covers approximately 22 square miles at maximum level, 260 feet above sea level, providing reserve storage of 22 billion cubic feet of water for use in maintaining the level of Gatun Lake during dry seasons. Source: Governor of the Canal Zone There is no difference between the average mean level of the Pacific at Panama and the Atlantic at Colon. But at Colon there are small tides of 1 foot and at Panama large tides of 10 feet above and below the average level. On the Atlantic slope the Canal follows the former valley of the Chagres River; on the Pacific, that of the Rio Grande. Dams were built across these valleys to form lakes on which the ships are floated, and connection between the two valleys, through the intervening divide, was made by excavating Culebra Cut (officially named Gaillard Cut). The summit elevation, i. e., the surface of Gatun Lake and of Gaillard Cut, which is an artificial arm of the lake, is normally 85 feet above sea level, and the bottom of the Cut was excavated to 40 feet above sea level, giving normal depth of 45 feet. The channel through Gatun Lake is 2334 miles long, and the Cut is 8 miles long. The locks serve to raise ships from the sea to the summit level, or to lower them to sea after they have crossed the Isthmus. On the Atlantic side the lift is made at Gatun Locks, which have 3 steps or chambers, called lower, middle, and upper. On the Pacific side, one step is made at Pedro Miguel Lock, at the Pacific end of Gaillard Cut, and two at Miraflores Locks, about a mile to the south: between them is Miraflores Lake, with its surface normally 54 feet above sea level. Sections at sea level extend between the Atlantic Ocean and Gatun Locks, 623 miles, and between the Pacific and Miraflores Locks. 8 miles. The line of the Canal is northwest-southeast, and the Pacific end is 27 miles east of the Atlantic end. The Canal is 44.04 nautical miles or 50.72 statute miles in length, at least 300 feet wide at the bottom of excavated channels, 110 feet wide in the lock chambers, which have a usable length of 1,000 feet. . Depth varies but is not less than 41 feet in sea level sections or with surface of Gatun Lake. The Canal can handle any ship except the Normandie, the Queen Mary, and the Queen Elizabeth, which are too large for the lock chambers. A concrete dam across the Chagres River at Alhajuela was completed in 1935, creating Madden miles at normal level. It is impounded behind Gatun Lake covers approximately 165 square Gatun Dam, built of rock and earth across the Chagres River at Gatun, connecting the hills on either side with a low hill near the center of the valley. The Canal Zone is a strip of land extending five miles on either side of the center line of the Canal but excluding the cities of Colon, at the Atlantic end, and Panama, at the Pacific, which remain within Panama. It has by the census of 1940 a population of 51,827. Work on special defense projects and for building a third set of locks has resulted in a considerable increase of civilians in the past year. The Zone was granted to the United States by the treaty with Panama of February 26, 1904. The United States paid Panama $10,000,000 and $250,000 per year after the ninth year, and subsequently paid Colombia $25,000,000 under the treaty of 1922. The United States has acquired title to all of the land in the Canal Zone, reimbursing private owners, and no land is now available for private ownership. American occupation of the Canal Zone began on May 4, 1904, and the Canal was opened to traffic on August 15, 1914. Traffic in the early years was hampered by slides and reduced by war conditions, and the Canal was declared officially opened on July 12, 1920. The end of the fiscal year 1921 was adopted as the date the Canal could be considered completed, and the cost as of June 30, 1921, with Interest on the investment in earlier years compounded annually at 3%, was established by the Bureau of Efficiency at $525,812,661. As a The Canal Zone is a Government reservation administered by the organization known as The Panama Canal. This is an independent organization in the Government service whose head is the Governor, directly under the President. matter of executive arrangement, the Secretary of War represents the President in the administration of Canal Affairs. The Zone is fortified and occupied by a garrison in addition to the civilian employees of the canal and railroad. The Army maintains air ports at France Field on the Atlantic side and Albrook Field on Balboa Heights on the Pacific side. Third Locks Project The Third Locks Project, providing for the construction of an additional set of locks located approximately parallel to, but at some distance from, the existing locks at Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Mirafiores. and for the construction of the necessary by-pass channels connecting the new locks with the present Canal channel, together with such appurtenant facilities as may be deemed necessary, at a total cost not to exceed $277,000,000, was authorized by Act of Congress, approved August 11, 1939. This legislation authorizing the construction of additional facilities in the Canal Zone was enacted for the purpose of more adequately providing for the defense of the Panama Canal and for increasing its capacity for the future needs of interoceanic shipping. The locks of this new project are to have available dimensions of 140 feet by 1,200 feet, with a 45-foot salt water draft over the sills. Actual work on the new project started July 1, 1940. Cargo Traffic on Chief Foreign Canals Source: Official Reports of the Several Waterways Note: F. C. Flood Control; P.-Power; Irr. Irrigation; W. S. Water Supply; Nav.=Navigation. GRAND COULEE DAM, OREGON The Grand Coulee Dam turned over its first generator on March 22, 1941 (2 years ahead of schedule), and sent 10,000 of an ultimate capacity of 1,974,000 kilowatts, or 2,475,000 horsepower, into the network of transmission lines of the Bonneville Power Administration. This agency is charged with distribution of power from the Grand Coulee and Bonneville projects over the Pacific Northwest. Improvement of the Columbia River at Bonneville, Oregon, was undertaken on September 30, BONNEVILLE Improvement of the Columbia River at Bonneville, Oregon, was undertaken on September 30, 1933, under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act. The project was formally authorized by Congress in the River and Harbor Act approved August 30, 1935. It is located on the Columbia River about 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon, and may be reached by railroad and highway. The main features of the work are a dam, a powerhouse, a ship lock, and fishways. The total estimated cost of the project, with an installation of ten power units is $75,000,000. The dam, locks, existing power plant with its present installation of four units and appurtenant works at Bonneville have been constructed, and are being maintained and operated, under the 1933, under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, The project was formally authorized by Congress in the River and Harbor Act approved August 30, 1935. It is located on the Columbia River about 42 miles east of Portland, Oregon, and may be reached by railroad and highway. The main features of the work are a dam, a powerhouse, a ship lock, and fishways. The total estimated cost of the project, with an installation of ten power units is $75,000,000. DAM, OREGON direction of the Secretary of War and the supervision of the Chief Engineer, U. S. Army. Present installed generating capacity at Bonneville is 194.400 kilowatts. Money has been appropriated. numerous contracts have been let, and work is now going forward toward the purchase or installation of the remaining six units in the powerhouse. Transmission and sale of electric energy generated at Bonneville along with that generated at Grand Coulee dam is under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and the supervision of the Bonneville Power Administrator, Portland, Oregon By April 15, 1941, a total of 38 contracts for sale of power had been signed. Of these, 28 were with public distributing agencies, three with private utility companies and seven with industries. capable of raising the water level of the Colorado River 584 feet. Its length along the crest is 1,244 feet. The width at the top is 45 feet and at the bottom 660 feet; a total of 4,360,000 cubic yards of concrete was used in construction of the dam and other works, requiring 5,000,000 barrels of cement. BOULDER DAM (BOULDER CANYON) PROJECT Boulder Dam is the principal engineering feature of the Boulder Canyon Project, authorized December 21, 1928 for construction by the Bureau of Reclamation. It is the highest dam in the world. and is located in Black Canyon of the Colorado River where that stream forms the ArizonaNevada boundary about 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam was completed March 1, 1936, four years, 354 days after work was begun. The dam rises 726.4 feet above bedrock, and is The reservoir formed by Boulder Dam is called Lake Mead, named for Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of Reclamation, who died January 26. 1936, during the construction period. Lake Mead is the world's largest man-made lake, having a capacity of 32,359,274 acre-feet of water, and being 115 miles long and 8 miles in maximum width. In February 1941, it had filled to more than 23,400,000 acre-feet. Boulder Dam impounds in Lake Mead flood waters of the Colorado River for use in irrigation, in regulating the river, in flood control, silt control, improvement of navigation and in generating hydroelectric energy. The Imperial Valley, which lies below sea level in southern California, is dependent upon Boulder Dam for protection from overflow, water shortage, and silt accumulation. The Boulder Dam power house will have an installed capacity of 1,835.000 horsepower. The first unit was put in operation on Sept. 11, 1936. The power-house is to be equipped with 15 generating units of 115,000 and two of 55,000 horsepower capacity. A battery of 8 of the big generators, largest installed to date, and one of the smaller generators are in operation. Two additional large units are being installed and one other is being manufactured. FORT PECK John C. Page, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, reported that the sale of power at Boulder Dam for the fiscal year of 1940 amounted to $4.461,393.89 present power contracts will return the entire investment in the dam with interest at 4 per cent, and will create a surplus in fifty years, Page's report stated. The Bureau of Reclamation operates the dam, and Boulder City; Los Angeles and the Southern California Edison Co., are in charge of the power house; Lake Mead is controlled by the National Park Service, for purposes of recreation. The United States Government holds title to dam, power house, and equipment, Boulder City, and the lake. Erosion has so shortened the useful life of the water-supply reservoirs in the United States that a hundred years hence only 54 per cent will provide sufficient storage to meet present requirements, according to H. S. Bennett, chief of the Soil Conservation Service, said today. Over 20 per cent of the 12,000 or more reservoirs and dams have a useful life of fewer than fifty years and another 25 per cent will be lost in fifty to 100 years, he stated DAM, MONTANA The Fort Peck Dam, constructed by the Army Engineers on the Missouri River in northeastern Montana, is the largest earth-fill dam in the world. Construction was started in October, 1933, and the dam was raised to its final height of 250 feet in October, 1940. The primary purpose of the dam, expressed in the authorizing acts, is for the improvement of navigation on the Missouri River, and for the production of hydroelectric power consistent with the primary demands of navigation. Releases from the Fort Peck Reservoir for navigation purposes were started in 1938. The dam has a total crest length of 4 miles. comprised of the main section across the river valley of 10,578 feet and a large dike section on the west bank 10,448 feet in length. The average width of the base of the main structure is 3,500 feet, and the top, on which a hard-surfaced road will be constructed, is 100 feet wide. The dam contains about 123,000,000 cubic yards of earth-fill material, placed almost entirely by full-electric, FOREIGN DAMS a suction, dredge units; 4,000,000 cubic yards of gravel; and more than 1,000,000 cubic yards of rock Four tunnels, 24 feet and 8 inches in diameter bypass water releases from the reservoir through the east abutment of the dam. All tunnels are equipped with vertical-lift, tractor-type, emergency gates. Discharges through three of the tunnels are controlled by cylindrical gates installed in vertical, circular shaft, 50 feet in diameter; and the discharge through the fourth or power tunnel is controlled at the power house. A spillway with 16 vertical-lift gates, 25 feet by 40 feet, is located in the rim of the reservoir 3 miles east of the dam. A power plant, located at the outlet of one of the tunnels and designed for an ultimate installation of three 35,000-kilowatt generators with an initial installation of only two geenrators with a combined capacity of 50,000 kilowatts, is under construction at the present time. It is expected that construction of all major features of the project will be completed in 1943 Marathon, near Athens, (water supply) (1929) 177 128 140,000 43.000.000 144 1,322,955 29.000.000 124 Cauvery-Mettur. British India irrigation, power (1934). 214 45,000 13,000,000 5,978.750 16,000.00 Lloyd Barrage. Indus River, British India (1928-1932); irrigation. *Dneiper River, Russia: power, etc.. (1932) 200 410,000 8,000,000 291,800 110,000,000 Sautet, Drac (Rhone trib.) River, French Alps, power (1936) 414 Barberine, Switzerland, Alps (1921); power. 259 34,540 82,809 20.000.000 Jandula, near Andujar, Spain (1930); power. Esla, near Zamora. Spain; power 328 Don Martin, Tamaulipas, Mexico (1930); power, etc. 131 Jerry O'Connell, Bananeiras, Bahia, Brazil; power 110 264,200 12,000,000 359,267 8.000.000 23.1001 5,000,000 "Destroyed by the Russians in August, 1941, to prevent its seizure and use by German war forces. The Cauvery-Mettur irrigation project; in British India, inaugurated in 1934, has the largest dam in the British Empire and one of the largest in the world. The dam, at Mettur, on the Cauvery River, 180 miles southwest of Madras, is 5,300 feet long, and contains 542 million cubic feet of masonry, weighing 3,640.000 tons. It is 171 feet thick at the base and 2012 feet thick at the top; and it exerts a pressure on the ground beneath amounting to 1311⁄2 tons per square foot. The reservoir behind the dam is 13 miles long. 412 miles in its extreme width; its area is 60 square miles, with 180 miles of shore line. One of the legendary sites of the Garden of Eden is watered from a dam in Iraq, put in operation in March, 1939, by King Ghazi. The dam. which was begun 16 years ago, has cost 512 million dollars. The barrage is 1,615 feet long. St. Lawrence Seaway Canal Project Source: Reports to Congress minute and with foundations from 50 to 80 feet below water level The project calls for the construction of a 27-footing a flow of 100,000,000 gallons of water per channel through the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to Lake Ontario and from there through the Welland Canal and other interconnecting lake rivers and canals. The total distance from Duluth to open ocean would be 2,351 miles, and from Chicago to open ocean 2,250 miles. To make possible passage between the lakes, obstructions in the St. Marys River between Lakes Superior and Huron have to be removed. The same situation applies to the St. Claire River, Lake St. Claire, and the Detroit River between Lakes Huron and Erie. The total difference in water levels between Lake Superior and Lake Ontario would be overcome by the construction of a new lock in the St. Mary's River and by the improvement of the channels in the Welland Canal which has a total lift of 32512 feet. The most important part of the work is in the St. Lawrence River where it is necessary to construct 9 locks, several side canals in the Lachine and Soulange sections, and great dams and levees. Dams would be constructed across the river hav In their report to the two governments dated November 16. 1926. the Joint Board of Engineers estimated that the total cost to both countries would be approximately $427,000,000. Of this amount, they estimated that $251,000,000 would be the United States share and $176,000,000 the Canadian cost. The Brookings Institution, in its St. Lawrence report of 1929, estimated that $25,000,000 would have to be spent for each of 10 lake ports. The engineering department of the city of Buffalo has estimated that complete improvement of that harbor would cost approximately $47,000,000, which sum would cover both private and public expense. The Department of Research of the United States Maritime Commission shows that for the calendar year of 1938 the total water-borne foreign commerce of the United States moving via the St. Lawrence route amounted to 1,900,000 tons, and that of this total 123,000 tons, a little over 6 percent, was handled in American ships. The U. S. and British Statute Mile is 5,280 feet in length. On the Continent most of the old miles, which varied in length from about 3,300 feet to over 36,000 feet, have been replaced, officially at least, by the kilometre, which equals 0.62 statute mile or 3,280.8 feet. The Nautical or Sea Mile at any place is considered, for purposes of navigation, to be equal to the length of one minute of latitude at that place. The U. S. Nautical Mile is 6.080.20 feet in length and equal to one-sixtieth of a degree of a great circle of a sphere whose surface is equal in area to the area of the surface of the earth. The Geographic Mile is 6,087.1 feet in length and equal to one minute of longitude of the equator. The Knot is a measure of speed; a speed of one knot being a speed of one nautical mile per hour. A Nautical Mile-1.152 statute miles; a Fathom -6 feet; a Cable-0.1 nautical mile, or 608 feet: also, 120 fathoms or 720 feet. To convert statute miles into nautical miles, multiply statute miles by 0.8684; to convert nautical miles into statute miles, multiply nautical miles by 1.15157. |