REPORT OF BOARD OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS, PANAMA CANAL.


 The feature of terminal lakes is not new, indeed it is as old as the International Scientific Congress at Paris in 1879, one of the many plans proposed at that time suggesting a dam at Gatun. Again, in 1880 Mr. C. D. Ward, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, advocated the creation of a reservoir formed by a dam at Gatun for the purpose of securing interior lake navigation. Nearly two years ago be again agitated the same question in communications to members of the then Isthmian Canal Commission, and published a paper upon the same subject in the Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers for May, 1904. (See Appendix I.)
 Mr. Bates appears to express a preference for project B, which contemplates two terminal lakes, one on the Caribbean side formed by a dam at Mindi called Lake Chagres having a maximum elevation of water surface of 33.5 feet above mean tide, another at the Panama end formed by a dam connecting Ancon and Sosa hills with each other, and a second dam from Sosa Hill to the high ground on the westerly side of the Rio Grande-estuary. A third dam would also be needed to prevent escape of water over low land east of Panama, the waters thus impounded to be called Lake Panama, with a maximum elevation of water surface of 27 feet above mean tide. He also has an intermediate lake formed by a dam across the Chagres at Bohio called Lake Bohio, with the summit level at a maximum elevation of 62 feet extending through the continental divide to Pedro Miguel.
 This plan provides four lockages-one at Mindi, one at Bohio, one at Pedro Miguel, and another between Ancon and Sosa hills. A variant of the plan contemplates the removal from Bohio to Gatun of the dam forming the intermediate lake or summit level.
 This project also includes two terminal harbors, one called Balboa, a small protected area formed behind a proposed breakwater from the easterly side of the southerly portion of Limon Bay consisting of two parts, the opening between forming the entrance for the deep approach channel from deep water outside to the entrance of the canal proper, which he locates at the mouth of the Mindi.
 Another possible variant of this plan is indicated by placing a breakwater in two parts directly across Limon Bay from Manzanillo Point to Toro Point, with an entrance between them about 1,000 feet wide, b4g in the hearing before the Board Mr. Bates stated that he did not consider this breakwater necessary, and its cost is not included in his estimate of cost. (Project B.) For the reasons already stated in the section on harbors in this report it is the judgment of this Board that the outer harbor, through which the dredged approach channel lies, must be protected practically from the point of its beginning in deep water to the southerly limit of Limon Bay. This may in a measure be done by the outer breakwater shown on Mr. Bates's plan, in which case the inner- one could be omitted. In making up the estimate of cost of this project the additional cost of this breakwater should therefore be included.
 The general project of the harbor of Panama, forming the Pacific terminus, is much more elaborate than the harbor of Balboa. The former is to be inclosed by two great breakwaters, one starting at Guinea Point and running in a southeasterly direction to the island of Naos, and the other starting at Paitilla Point, extending first nearly due south, then southwesterly to the island of Perico. He proposes to dredge an entrance channel to the canal between the islands of Perico and Naos and running straight to the lock in the dam between Sosa and Ancon hills, the canal line nearly to Miraflores constituting a straight extension of the center line of the approach channel. This harbor is an ambitious one and includes a naval station on the north side of Ancon Hill. An entirely new site, formed by filling with the excavated material from the canal, is proposed for an extension of the city of Panama many times in extent the area occupied by the present city. He proposes some minor modifications of these projects for new harbors, but they do not affect materially the character of his harbor plans. These proposed terminal harbors are common to his three canal projects.
 Project A has a summit level of 27 feet only above mean tide, maintained by two dams, one at Mindi and one connecting Ancon and Sosa hills with the high ground above Farfan Point, both of these being identical with the terminal dams of project B in location, but the former is of less height. The peculiarity of this plan is the low summit level, 27 feet above mean tide,


27