These great machines, which are able to dig out and load several tons of material at each operation, made the rapid progress in digging the canal possible.
Gigantic Obstacles.
The greatest difficulty encountered in the excavation of the canal was due to slides and breaks which caused large masses of material to slide or move into the excavated area, closing off the drainage, upsetting steam shovels and tearing up the tracks. The greatest slide was at Cucaracha, and gave trouble when the French first began cutting in 1884. Though at first confined to a length of 800 feet, the slide extended to include the entire basin south of Gold Hill, or a length of about 3,000 feet. Some idea of the magnitude of these slides can be obtained from the fact that during the fiscal year 1910 of 14,921,750 cubic yards that were removed, 2,649,000 yards, or eighteen per cent, were from slides or breaks that had previously existed or that had developed during the year.
One of the Guard Gates, Gatun Locks, Panama Canal
Each lock is provided with four gates. This shows the method of construction, the gate being only partially finished.
Gatun Upper Locks, East Chamber