]

[Illustration: PANAMA CANAL ZONE]

Type of Canal

The canal has a summit elevation of 85 feet above the sea, reached by
a flight of three locks located at Gatun, on the Atlantic side, and by
one lock at Pedro Miguel and a flight of two at Miraflores, on the
Pacific side; all these locks are in duplicate--that is, two chambers,
side by side. Each lock has a usable length of 1,000 feet and a width
of 110 feet. The summit level is maintained by a large dam at Gatun
and a small one at Pedro Miguel, between which is the great Gatun
Lake, with an area of 164.23 square miles. A small lake, about two
square miles in area, with a surface elevation of 55 feet, is formed
on the Pacific side, between Pedro Miguel and Miraflores, the valley
of the Rio Grande being closed by a small dam and the locks at
Miraflores.

Length, Width and Depth of Canal

The Canal is about 50 miles in length, from deep water in the
Caribbean Sea to deep water in the Pacific Ocean. The distance from
deep water to the shore line in Limon Bay is about 4-1/2 miles, and
from the Pacific shore line to deep water is about 5 miles; hence, the
length of the Canal from shore to shore is approximately 40-1/2 miles.

The bottom width of the Canal varies from 200 feet in Culebra Cut to
an indefinite width in the deep waters of the lakes. The approaches
from deep water to land on both sides of the Canal are 500 feet wide,
and the cuts in the shallow parts of the lakes from 500 to 1,000 feet
wide. The Canal has a minimum depth of 41 feet.

[Illustration: Republic of Panama

Topographic Relief-Map
FROM LATEST OFFICIAL DATA
Showing CANAL ZONE]

[Illustration: ARCTIC REGIONS]

[Illustration: ANTARCTIC REGIONS

SHOWING THE ROUTES OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPLORATIONS]

[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA]

[Illustration: DOMINION OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND]

[Illustration: UNITED STATES

Published by
The Geographical Pub. Co.
CHICAGO]

[Illustration: MAINE]

[Illustration: NEW HAMPSHIRE]

[Illustration: VERMONT]

[Illustration: MASSACHUSETTS]

[Illustration: RHODE ISLAND

PREPARED ESPECIALLY FOR NELSON'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA]

[Illustration: CONNECTICUT]

[Illustration: NEW YORK]

[Illustration: NEW JERSEY]

[Illustration: PENNSYLVANIA]

[Illustration: MARYLAND AND DELAWARE]

[Illustration: VIRGINIA]

[Illustration: WEST VIRGINIA]

[Illustration: OHIO]

[Illustration: INDIANA]

[Illustration: MICH