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A1tgUst 15, 1914 A TRIP THROUGH THE CANAL August 15, 1939
permits and time and water are saved thereby.
These are not often used although a large proportion
of the traffic through the Canal is made up
of small vessels, .since the demands of traffic have
never been sufficient to cause a shortage of water.
There are numerous safety devices in al1 of the
mechanical parts of the locks and the protection
of the lock gates consists of fender chains which
are placed on the upstream side of the guard
gates, intermediate and safety gates at the lower
is performed and the water and the ship are
raised again. When the third operation is completed
the vessel is 85 feet above mean sea level
and gates open into Gatun Lake and the towing
locomotives pul1 the vessel clear of the locks and
the towing lines'are disengaged.
During the ti.me the ship has been locked up
to Gatun Lake level the passengers have had an
opportunity to see much of the workings of the
giant locks and some of the surrounding territory.
!
The dying forest in Catun Lake presents a weird appearance as ships glide 'along the glassy su-rface. A striking contrast to the dead
trees are many little islands covered with a thick carpet of velvety green vegetation. When Catun Lake was first filled, orchid
hunters reaped a rich harvest from tree tops.
end of each flight of locks. There are 24 fender
chains in al1 and each weighs more than twelve
tons. They are raised and lowered by means of
a hydraulical1y operated system of cylinders by
which the chain is paid out gradual1y if struck
by a vessel. In addition to this safety feature,
double gates are provided at the entrances to
all locks and at the lower end of the upper lock
in each .flight, the guard gate of each protecting
the lower gate from ramming by a ship which
might possible get out of control and break.a
fender chain.
Entering the lower lock at Gatun the ship is
raised 28 feet to the next highest level and when
the water in the lower and middle lock chambers
has been equalized the gates between the two
chambers are opened and the vessel is towed into
the middle chamber. Again the same operation
If it is a bright sunshiny day perhaps those.
aboard ship wil1 see golfers playing over the long,
smooth fairways of the 18-hole golf course on the
top and along the slopes of Gatun Dam. On the
left stands the town of Gatun where the employees
at the locks and their families live.
After leaving Gatun Locks, the vessel may
steam across the 24 miles of the lake at full speed,
for the channel through the lake is from 500 to
1,000 feet wide, and from 45 to 87 feet deep. The
trip through the lake area is a fascinating part of
the trip through the Canal for the traveler realizes
that the ship is passing high above what was
formerly a dense jungle. The lake area just outside
the channel gives evidence of a radical
change wrought in nature by the multitude of
gray, dead trees that stretch their arms skyward
up through the water. Dotted across the lake
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