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Canal Scenes

Here are pictures takes as we were going through on MV Heather K. as well as on other boats
and the day we spent on the Tug Esperanza.

Click on any picture to see an enlarged view

	This is a view from a hill along Gaillard Cut looking on a tanker with a tug secured to its stern. All large vessels are required to have a tug attached while transiting the cut in the event it loses steerage. A drifting vessel could run agraound or otherwise close the canal at the narrow channel. Large vessels must also transit in single file. This will change after the widening is completed in a few years.
	This is Gold Hill in the Gaillard Cut. It is so named because there were so many contractors assigned on this hill at the time of Canal construction that everyone could find a pot of money working on this hill. This and the next two pictures show a left to right panorama view of the Gaillard Cut across the Continental Divide.
	The Continental Divide separates the rivers flowing into the Pacific from those flowing into the Atlantic. The main river feeding the Panama Canal is the Chagres River which flows into the Atlantic. It is dammed near its outlet west of Colon. The water level in the Gaillard Cut is approximately 90 ft. above sea level.
	Here is a view down the middle of the Gaillard Cut where the Panama Canal traverses the Continental Divide.
	This is a view taken from the Tug Esperanza as we passed through Gaillard Cut. The top of this hill has been taken down by over 150 ft. to reduce slides. The anchors imbedded into the wall to further minimize slides are very evident. During construction of the Canal, there had many slides in this cut due to the unstable soil. Several of the slides buried railroad cars and other construction equipment.
	This is a view of the bank opposite from the above picture. Note the stepping cuts to prevent further sliding of the bank. It too had a large amount of soil removed from its crown.
	These are some of the range markers used to guide ships through the Canal. At night these ranges have lights to mark their position. The size of the markers can be seen by comparing them to the truck at the base of the construction site for a new marker.

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