ucrl 126133 isthmus of tehuantepec

8/7/2019 ucrl 126133 Isthmus of Tehuantepec

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UCRL-ID-126133

Isthmus of Tehuantepec

R.A. Miles

DISCLAIMERThis report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United StatesGovernm ent. Neither the United Sta tes Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of theiremployees, makes any w arranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi-bility for the accuracy. completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, orprocess disclosed, or represents that its usc would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer-ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademarkmanufacturer. or otherwise does not neccssarily constitute or imply its endorsement, rccom-mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. T he viewsand opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect thosc of theUnited St ates Government or any agency thereof.

This is an informal report intended primarily for internal or limited externaldistribution. The opinions and conclusions stated are those of the author and mayor may not be those of the Laboratory.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S.Department of Energy b y theLawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-ENG-48.


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DISCLAIMERPortions of this document m y be illegiblein electronic image products. Images a reproduced from the best available originaldocument.


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25 March 1958DECLASSIFICATIONSTAMP ON RWER

MJ3MORANDUM/

T O 8 Distr ibut ionFROM: Robert A . MilesSUBjECTt Revised Ke?ort - Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Enclosed for yotir information and retention i s onecopy of a pre liminary repor t on the I s t h u s of Tehuantepec asa loca t ion for a non-military application o f nuclear devices.This report i s a revised and combined version of txo previousr e p o h , one by Cliff Bacigalupi an d Fred Marren, and one byRobe& Miles, both dated 2L February 1958.t h a t t h e two previous r epor t s be destroyed.

I t i s requested

Tnis repor t i s intended t o provide preliminaryinformation t o personnel within the Laboratory and w i l l heused as a base o r s t a r t i n g p oi nt by th e Non-i%litary App licat ionsStudy Co mi ttee i n developing a final repor t .

EnclosureDistr ibution:G. h'. Johnson


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IsT H M E OF I'EIIUAMTEPEC INVESFICA T I O N$3

f o r

OPERATION PLOleGHARE

Prepared by$

C l i f f o r d PI. dacigalupiRobert A. f i l e sFred J. ;.jamen

Test Operations UCRL, LivermoreMarch 25, 1958


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I.I1.111.

Iv.V.

VI.

VI11.IX.X.

XI.

History of the Trans-Ist d a n Canal a t T ehuan tepec----------- - ---- -----Page 1

Purpose and Usefulness O f a Canal Across The Isthmus of Tehuantepec----Page 8

Chart #3 - Comparative size of a ls -------Page 40


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PART IHISTORY OF "H E WS-ISTKMLW CANAL

The idea f communication b tween the Pacif ic and Atlant i oc eans rossth e Isthmus of Tehuantepec i s as old as the Spanish conquest of Mexico whenS p i n was one of th e world's great imperialist powers.t o forsee the enomus strategic advantages such communication would give theSpanish crown for control of the high seas and aafety from pira.t;e raids uponSpanish shipping.the isthmus.

Cortes was the f i r s t

However, Co rtes succeeded only i n building a road across

After independence from Spain had been won, Mexico se n t tw o exploringparties t o survey the isthmus and weigh th e f ea si bi l i ty of a canal. "heycame back with nearly iden t ical reports suggest ing a water route from theG u l f of Campeche t o the head of the Coatzaeoalcos river, and from there byland t o Tehuantepec aild the Pacif ic , New revolutions flared, and nothingmore was heard of the project.

A l a t e r survey party and exploration group headed by Jose de Garay w a sgranted a concession by the Mexican government; t o survey the isthmus and make'a proposal on a water-way comecting t h e two oceans.&ray sold his concession to &gland, who in turn sold i t t o the United States.

After nearly two years

Since the Mexican government had J us t l o s t considerable amounts of l and t othe U n i t e d SWtes i n the southwest, the U. S. party was t o l d to leave, andnothing more was accomplished.

fered in which aShip8 t o be,


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a small railway was built piecemeal by different concessionaires and later onit was improved a d extended.coat of over ~40,000,000.

It w a s formally inaugurated in 1907, at a totalMost of t h i s money ended up i n t h e pockets of London

and Hew York bankers, and corrupt railway and government officials.4CmzJ.>J!% 24: 5 f P'This long hassle1-1_ " __ played a,n important part i n a canal being b ui l t a t P a m ,

although the Isthmus of Tehuantepec was preferred. Since t h e ear ly l9OOsmany people have proposed the trans-continental cana3, but either revolutions,war, or p o l i t i c a l upheaval have prevented any positive act ion. The r i c k e g yTehuantepec Railway of today is a sad ending for t h e many ambitious projectsand attempts made during four hundred years t o establish a communication betweenthe oceans.

Since the end of World War I1 there have been other proposals f o r buildinga canal at Tehuantepec by both the United Sta tes Navy and th e Corps of ArmyEngineers. The Corps of Engineers recently completed a survey of the area t ostudy t h e f e a s i b i l i t y of such a canal.


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The Isthmus of Tehuantepec l i e s between the Bay of' Campeche on the northThe major port c i t y on the northand the Gulf of Tehuantepec on the south.

shore is Puerto Nexico, or Coatzacoalcos, which was once a great port , buti s now reduced t o a f i sh ing t o w n a t which only s t r a y s h ip s c a l l .terminal, like t h e docks, has seen better days.mately 890 miles southwest of Hew Orleans, and i s the port of e nt ry fo r s h i pgoing into the Coatzacoalcos river which winds i t * sway f o r twenty-two milest o Minati t%an.the isthmus because it is the s i t e of one of Mexico's larg est o i l ref ine r ies ,and supplies Mexico w i t h a large par t ion of h e r o i l and petroleum.

The r a i lPuerto Mexico l i e s approxi-

Minati t lan i s the only properous c i t y on the Gulf s ide ofb

The count ry between Puerto Mexico and Ninatitlan i s low and rolling, andheavily vegetated along the r ive rs .starts just a f e w miles inland. The Jungle i s classed as a t r o p i c a l r a i nforest, and extends into the mountains.giant trees hung with creepers, ragged palms, great t a r o leaves, and coveredwith w i l d morning-glory.

The dense jungle which b i s e c t s t h e isthmus

It i s extremely dense a d fill of

There are areas of large bamboo forests, nakingt r a v e l through the jungle very d i f f i c u l t .of great silk-cotton trees rise above the dense level of the jungle and provide

Occasionally the bHeached skeletons

a sunny perch f o r large black vultures. The floor of the jungle i s f a i r l y f r eeof dense vegetation, bu t i s crawling with a myriad of insects , lizards, ands1212kes. Many rare and exo t ic b i rds l iv e i n the trees, and screech a t peoplewho invade the& denseperforming their acrob

2

-a,refuge.high i n the t r ee s .

Monkeys are also abundant, and de l igh t in


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pic, i $ 't o theof the abundance of game, these jungle k i l l e r s seldom attack man.

aguar, the jungle contains many oc eu ot , and wild cats. BeczuseOther

Pwild game includes t a p i r , a species of wild boar, deer, rebbits , and fox,but the natives have not put thes e animal skins t o any par'ticular use.lakes along the At lant ic slope are infes ted with a l l ig a to rs sild the jungle

The

and dry Pacific slopes both contain Yne deadly rattle-snake and coral-snake.The jungle a l s o hosts swarms of bees which busy themselves w i t h maicing waxand honey. The lakes and rivers contain an amazing v a r i e t y and abundance off i sh , and the t o r t o i s e s h e l l found near Illorro on t h e Pacific coast i s un-surpassed. rThere i s a l s o an abundant supply of pheasant, wild turkey, pjtridge,quail , w i l d pigeon, and ducks. On the high Atlantic slopes i n the mountainsa smll area is plagued with vmpfre bats, which have proven t o be a menancet o both men and livestock.----..

!&e'guam, a giant l izard , inhabi ts both the northern and southern portionsYof the isthmus, and i s eaten by the natives who consider it a delicacy.southernthe north i s green.

Thegutma i s a brown and tan color, while his bro the r i n the jungles t oj4)

The people of th e isthmus differ i n t h e i r appearance and customs from onearea t o another . Tae Pacif ic p la ins are inhabi ted by several groups old!ndians,t h e BOSt ?3AU&am .t being the Huave and Zapotecs.O y 4 - d TSome dndian t r ibes l i v e i nthe mountains and seldom, if ever, communicate with others, a& ere f o r thembst part se l f - su f f ic ien t . Host of the hdians i n the northern part of theisthmus live i n the aungle, a.nd hunt md farm, and sometimes c a tc h f i s h f o rt h e i r l iv ing.

The area of lagoons on the Pacific shore i s one of the most inhospitableareas in which human beings can suhsfst, cmmL3Mngof treeless and unprotectedsand be that by four months of cold, b i t i n g n o rt h


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\

sandstorms, four months of scorching drought, and four molzths of floods. Itis infested wlth ants , fleas, mosquitos, and can pro6uce very l i t t l e food.The people t ha t inha'oit t h i s region are ch ie f ly of the Huave tribe, an d l i v ela rgely on fish, t u r t l e e g g s , and what l i t t l e they can grov i n the i r deso la tes o i l .

The people of the Pac i f i c slopes are industrious, and spend most of theirtime farming, bartering, weaving, or f ishing. Tehuantepec has a l a rge marketplace where people from a l l over the area come t o sell or trade t h e i r shrimp,fish, turtle eggs , chickens, corn bread, ch i l l , co f fee , chocolate, oranges andbananas. The people of the market place usually wear t h e i r o l d e s t and mosttattered clothes i n order to s i n p i t y in t h e i r business deals.they w e a r f i n e silks, serge, and felt hats .

When a t home,T h e L d i a n s awn sheep, gmt s , oxen

and horses.the horses for spor t or sell them,

They use th e sheep's wool, yoke the oxen t o t h e i r carts , and r i d eMany of them rarely cat meat, and l i v e

chiefly on f i s h , shrimp, chili, eggs, e tc .The major c i t i e s of the isthmus and their populations, as of 1959, are as

follows:Juchitan 14,550TehueLntepecIdinatitIan

20,00018,539

fuerto Mexico 13,740Union Hidalgo

As the p p l a t i o n map shows, most of the people of the isthmus live e i t h e r onthe Pacif ic or At lant ic slopes, w i t h sparse s e t t l a & n t i n th e jungle andmmtain areas.

The jungle is quite producti $ 8 wild claim on the land. Many harwo0a trees, such as mahogaay, a r e c u t and brought out fo r commercial m e . Due

* i

.A


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t o a severe lack of transportation this industry has not been developed t o

Ixtepec14inatitlanPuerto MexicoNwchita1salina cruz

any great extent . The natives which l i v e in the jungle c l e a r areas and p l a n t

10,000 feet 83 f ee t civil-Hilitaiy4,300 " 90 C i v i l3,000 " 13 " Eneergency3,000 * 3) " Emergency4,000 " 3 0 " Ebergency

corn, or other crops, i n the dark r i ch s o i l , When abandoned these fieldsbecome open grasslands and a r e soon swallowed up by the jungle.

The isthmus enjoys 8 t rop ica l clima-Le, which does no$ g e t as urhearablyhot 8 s other areas a t t h e same latitude. The mean yearly temperature runs

0between 7 7 O and eo,an6 rarely gets below 60' or above 105 .sfo& gets from 80 to 100 inches of rain per year, while t h e Pacific slopereceives considerably less.

The Atlantic

-.- Just p r i o r t o reaching th e summit of the lowridge of mountaLns, the vegetation changes abruptly f'rom a Lush, d a r k greento %he ar ld, hot plains of the Pacific which are covered with %-rush of grayand rust, cactus and thorny low bushes, and clpamps of p d m ? t t o on brown roll3hgh i u s .

More detailed weather information i s contained i n t h e weather chartsaccoapnying t h i s report ,

Transportation in the i.stiuarS is quite varied, w i t h the Pan Arrierican Highwayrunning throu& the Pacific plains, railways crossing th e isthmus t o th e northand t o the southeast, boat travel on some of the larger r ive r s , and a ir t r ave lto mast sections of t h e isthmus. Following is a table of landing f i e l d s :

J


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area, and is used and cont ro l led jointly by t h e Mexican A i r Force and C i v i lauthorities. It's la rge runways can handle most of t h e large planes i nexistence toaay.

. .


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4

The geographical features of the western hemisphere h m e created anavigat ional problem from the t ime that atin f i r s t sai led the seas.distance required t o circumnavigate the American continents, and the

The

dangers involved in t rave l ing cer ta in por t ions of t h e route, l e d f i r s t t oa search for the fabled "Northwest Passage" and when t h i s fa i led , theconstruction of a canal across t h e s t r i p of land connecting th e two continentsa t i t s narrowest point. This channel, named the Panama Canal, furnished anall-weather passage between the Atlant ic and Paci f ic Oceans and resulted i nan enm ous inc rease in the amount of shipping serving t h e Americas.

Although s t i l l of t h e utmost importance t o both commercial and mil it ar yin t e re s t s , t he ex i s t ing canal has two major drawbacks; f i rs t , i t i s highlyvulnerable t o hosti le act ion, a condition that has existed from th e time itw a s f i r s t opened. Secondly, the size of ships has been gradual$y increasingu n t i l at the present time several of the la rg es t ves sel s now i n service aren o t capab&e of u t i l i z i n g this passage.b u i l t , it i s probable that t h i s f igure w i l l continue t o increase.

As new ships are constantly being

Therefore, it i s proposed to bu i ld a skecond canal, to be located onthe Isi2ums of Nexico, Although this second channel w o u M not s igni f icant lyshorten the present route, it would defini tely counteract the t w o mador dis-8dvsntaSfte of t h e Panama C a a a l ioned ear l ier . It would provide an

e, w i t h the subsequent poss ib i l i t y that at least f thecanals would remain open In case of enemy attack.to arccs?#m

1% would also be constructede largerrt existing vessel and pobably any+.shipt o be buil


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in the future.the subject of the following portions of t h i s r e p or t .

This, then, is the proposal presently under discussion and


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wPart rv

$?henyou examine a map of' the American isthmus, many places appearfavorable for the construction of a n inter-ocean canal.i n the north p r t of t h e fsthrsus is the isthmus of Tehuantepec, then Guatemala,Wicaragua, and Pawma.&d talk about the o the r th ree po ss ib u i t i e s .

The first p o s s i b i l i t y

Since Pahama axready has a canal we may ru le it out

Wicaragua w a s a t one time considered a possible s i t e for the construct ionof a canal, hawever the canal would have been 168 miles long, and cut throughmountains similar i n height t o those a t Tehumtepec.the mountains along t h e canal route i s 7&3 f ee t above sea Iwe l .

The lowest pass through

Guatemala o f f e r s a canal route much shorter than Wicaragua or Tehuantepec,but the lowest pass is approximately 'j',OOO f e e t high.

Both GuatemtPla and Nicaragua a re subject t o frequent seismic a c t i v i t y ,which occasionally becomes severe. Two c i t i e s which lie on the proposedNicaraguan canal route have been destroyed seven times i n th e last t h reecentur ies- The isthmus of Tehuantepec has several very favorable features t o offer,d d a few that are unfavorable.l inked t o the Coataacoalcos river would be approximately U6 miles long.l o w range of lnountains &vides t h e isthmus, but several r ivers have cut throughi t s slopes, making the construction of a canal along these routes possible.

The isthmus is l20 miles wide, and a canalA

Before undastalring such a project, one must be able t o justif?y the la rgeexpenditure of money suld tinre that would be required t o complete t h i s project .


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The most obvious advantage of another inter-ocean canal through the Americasi s that the Panama Canal cannot handle t h e la rge ships of toiiay, and i n th ef i t u r e , it w i l l not be able t o handle the volume of shipping that can passthrough i t ' s locks.t h e Panam Canal was somewhat vulnerable t o surprise a t t a c k , and would become

A repor t by t h e Governor of Panama in 1947 s t a t e d tha t

more so w i t h the improvement of modern weapons. Since Tehuantepec is lessthan a thousand m i l e s from the United S t a t e s , defense would be easier in caseof an all-out a t tack against the canal.the Tehurrntepec project is th e mileage difference between the Panarrps andTehuan-tepec canals.

Another significant advantage to

This is illustrated by the following b b l e :

r

maM_L

ew Orleansew York

New YorkCalvestonGalveston

TOSan FranciscoSEUl F l % I l C i 8 C OHonoluluTehuantepec canalPanam canal

ii4,744 mi. i 5,858 mi. 1,104 m i5,918 mi. 7,393 mi. I 1,475 m iiii: 1,400 mi.i680 mi. ii

This substantial saving of t h e and money would be valuable to military as wellas c-kcirtl shipping. A ship $he s i ze of the US5 Forres ta l i s unable t o passthrough the Paaesra Canal, and during some parts of' t h e year, it cannot p e sthrough the S tra i t of Magellan because of ice. The proposed size of t he


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d L-7I-- 1 2 - F3Tehuantepec canal could easily accomodate a ship the s lze of the Forrestal , oreven larger ships.d r a w s 35 f ee t of water.and the proposed Tehuantepec caml:

The Forrestal is 252 feet wide at t h e f l igh t deck, andFollowing is a coxparison of size of t h e Panama C a n a l

The variation i n width of the T&wmtepec canal stems from t h e possibility ofhaving either one chamel 300 yards wide, or a double channel each w i t h awidth of 200 yards, crossing t h e isthmus.fn a followfng section.

The merits of each will be discussed


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of momtains, i t appears that conventional methods of c a m 1 d i a i n g could beused, and th e nuclear devices would then be u t i l i z e d only i n t h e higherelevations aad fo r removing; any large obstacles.

WX f X R SUPPLY. There are numerous streams and rivers all. through t h eisthmus which carry enough water to supply a canal through t h e ent i re lengthof the i s tbus .isthmus several years ago, t h e canal w i l l require an estimated 1,700 cubic feet

Using figures computed by a Maval expedition through the

of water per second.to supply the locks and canal.brger r ivers of this area io approximately three times t h e amount needed, andif darns or a r t i f i c i a l lakes were formed by stream diversion, an ample supplyof water and water parer would be on hand at all times. The construction ofa sea-level caaa.1 would be d i f f i c u l t because the mountain ridges d iv id ing t h eisthus rise to approximately 700 f e e t o r more i n the pmses) making extensiveexoaveLting necessary.a t th e isthmus, which would create a current from south t o north in t h e cana.l.

The exact mute of t h e canal should be determined by a survey ofThe Coatzacoalcos r i v e r provides 22 miles of navigpble water on t h e

.The total yield of on ly th e

The Pacific ocean i s two feet higher than t h e Atlantic

ROUTE.the area,northern side of the isthnxus, but the remaining 116 miles of channel would haveto be cut overland and go through the most advantageous place in the mountains.Following is a table showing th e he i& ts of severa l passes through the mountainsof t h e isthmus:

I.a Chivela 78a feetMasahua 843 f ee tWest Piedra PartLda 850 feetEast Pied3-a Farada feeta r i f a ( ~ o s t i ~ o ) 6%4 feetConvent0 750 feet


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- 16 -I have chosen Tarftfa pass not only because i t is t h e lowest, b u t because i ti s close to rivers which have cu t valleys Inko the nountains, makini: excav8tionm e h easier.t h e Pla in of T a r i f ' a , wnich is the asproximate route of the southern brmch ofth e canal.

Flap No. 4, shovs a profile of the ground f rm Laguna Superior to

FUEL SUPPLY. The isthmus or"Tchuantepec contains a sood supply of crude033 at MinatitPan, which is refined and shipped to other parts of Mexico.Minatit3.m l i e s on t h e proposed canal rat e, it should be coasidered a good

Since

source of fue l f o r &ips passing through t h e isthmus.produced 6,076,koo bbl . of o i l .however because of the l ack of transportation t'nese fields have not been -tappedor developed.

In 1948 this re f ine ryThere are other petroleum sources in the jungle,


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- 17 -

A , &nerd. Operational I n f o m t i o nThis pr0jec.t;far exceeds the scope 03 any o tfie proposals so fa r

cunuidered in both %heamount 03 ear-iiii to be mo;red a d th e t i m e , e f f o r t andcapieal required.of housing, transporting and minttr ining these i t e m s , i'c becomes necessary to

In such t;hirq33 as personnel and egu' ipent and t h e methods

cmplefrely revise t h e general procedures previously advocated f o r other si tes .&e pcksible recommended schedule follows, covering some of the general problemsexpected t o arise during the CDWSES of evenix,

!?he M t i a l group to arri-re at th e won^ s i t e w o u l d be a small pmty ofapproximately ten aen.the m y for a larzer p r e l i m i r j ~ ; swrJey t e a .this group, together w 3 t h t he i r equipment, to the site, using an existing townas an i n i t i a l base camp. U sw helicopters primarily, the advance p a r t y wouldobtain very W i c information on t h e proposed route of t h e canal inc ludingdirection, approximate heights along the route, type of terrain and generalarea, characteristics.moving t he i r base of operations from time to t i m e as necessazy.

%lis group could be considered an advance party pavingit should be poosible t o f l y

The group would spen6 approximtely two months on-site,

Vjyn t he completion of work by the advance party, a fullscale survey andbonstrwtion force would proceed to t n e area. Their mission would be to make ',a complete survey of th6 entire.route, $0 include geological s q l e s and contourdah .entire rwte, t

In addition, the vork force would construct a pioneer road along theed.both during the survey a d subsequent operations. It

require 1% men and six months to complete.


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land from t h e end of the route (See Metp no. 5 ) .would support a r o l l i n g camp of the type recommended f o r th e survey party.These two ro ll in g camps would be responsible for supporting th e work on th ecentrsl portion of the overall route, and would move accordingly as the workprogressed.

Each of these camps i n t u rn

Ve r y preliminary estimates of p r a m e l levels and time schedulesare the OnLy ty@ possible a t t h i s t i m e . Manpower levels ar e p laced a t 800,w i t h a period of approximately ehree to f iv e years required t o complete theactual excavation, depending on results of the survey and operational problemsencoyntered on-site.

As 8 peaceLime appl ica t ion of nuclear energy, this project would befinished upoa the completion of' the earth-moving portion of the project .ever, this wouJ.d be only the beginning of wother and much greater undertaking.

How -

A l l equipment for this par ty would be shipped by water t o t h e area, includingportable housing and feeding accommodations.camp be used, u t i l iz ing heavy-duty v a n t ra i le rs arlapted t o meet the variousneeds of a construction force of this s ize .to eliminate problems a r i s i n g from distances involved, as th e camp would movein conjunction w i t h the progress of the work party. When t h l s portion of .thejob was completed, it would be possible t o proceed with act ual constructionprepsring for t h e creat ion of the canal.

It i s r e e m e n d e d that a rolling

By t h i s method, it would be possible

This final s t e p would require .the la rg es t work force and therefore morefw i l i t i e s than any of th e preliminary pazties.f o r completion, work w o u l d be accomplished simultaneously along the e n t i r eroute.Twa of these w a d be f ixed camps, one located appru#mately twenty miles in-

To decrease the time required

To support this program i t i s f e l t that four camps would be necessary.

?.


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- sg -To make t h e canal useable, a grea t des1 of additional work would be necessary.This would laelude s t a b i l i z i n g the sides of th e channel, constl-ucting rzilroacisand hi&m.ys, i n s t a l l i n g e l e ct ri ca l. f a c i l i t i e s and u i?~yrisG.of other construct iont a ~ k s . TJo estimate of t h e su9port required for this voik is at teqtec? , bat atentati7j-e c o s t analysis i s included in.Part V I I I , Engineering and Construct ion,to assist in giving s m e idea or" *&e qast magaitude of the c o q l e t e project.

B. Transportation31 s p i t e of t h e inmy differences involved i n t h i s project as compared

w i t h others already considered, basic transportation problems w o u l d be verysimilar. Once on-site, personnel would re ly on military-type vehic les f o r allloca l movement.in terrain along th e route would probably require t h e use of some t rackedvehicles.rapid movement between t h e many worksites, especially in view of the d is tancesinvolved.

Four-wheel dr ive models would be mandatory, and t h e var ia t ions

Helicopters and possibly l i g h t aircraft would be necessary t o provide

P r a c t i c a l l y all equipment would move via water between t h e 21 and job site.Exceptions w u l d be L i m i t e d t o small items and p r i o r i t y cargo, which could moveby air. Personnel, &s usual, would be flown to and from t h e s i t e .

The -two rolling camps oonsidered necessary w o u l d be completely mobile toprovide nraximum f l e x i b i l i t y . Major components w o u l d include van traQers&.apted t o serve various functions and tihe necessary prime movers, sufficientheavy-duty Spatbed t r a f l e r s and t r a c t o r s t o m e construction equipment, an.adequate supply train and numerous personnel carriers.completely self-sufficient camps w i t h 8 mobile capability.

331 short, they would be

..


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C . ComimicatioasThe o-rem11 dis tances in-miired w i t h i n t h e proposed te;t s i i e arc sose-

I;hing less t h a n tile di s t a i ce betpreen the t tro a t o l l s C O E Q i - i S i i i g t i r e Z G .Suita3le radio cormm ica2io;i ui-bhiii this &rea could be obtained th-ou& the useof s'can&ard military eqirfpment, w i t h p-roba3l.y a relay &ation requi red atopone of t h e f r i a e r t e r r a i n features.of the four a m p s i t es to e s i x b l i s h operational a d administrat ive nets t ocoordinate their own a c t i v i t i e s .

Short-rarige tran3mi-i;ter.swould enable each

It would be adxmtaseous I o s e t as a telephone

peroonnel.

network between the two outermost, or f ixed carzip,rolling, campa could be tied Til to t h i s system bz neitiis of d rad io l i nk , greaterTjexiSilitjr w o u l d be possible,

If the fxo rernabing, o r

ho"&er comrmr;lica%iua requlrsmznt consists of e s t a b l i s h i ng aad mintariningLong-rm&e equip-

T iem d i ~contact with the ZL, including a classifYed capabilitj.ment may possibly be alreads in existence and a v a i h b l c for OUT use.classified 1Lnk would in all. probability hiwe to be installed by opemtional

fi ei ther case, fkzzhz~-h v e s t i e t i o n i s necessaz-y t o deternine howxequireaeats could best be m e t .

1 Problems.Ex.teneive planiiing woula be necessary to arrive at Laboratory figures

that would be e n s g e d e i the r directly or ind i r ec t ly in on-slte work. The .,estin%ted Length of the project would necessitate constant rotation, and thetwml.bn$ hdmlr ina t ion and u'cilizatiun of a much larger number ti?an w a d be

these fixed

I). Pcrsonn

required on-site at any given tine.F a c i l i t i e s within the several c w sites ,aauld be as nearly identical

'


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,

:i. -


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P a r t V I 1

c

LOGISTICS &

A . Fkis th& Fac i l l t i e oCsWolllsiied c i t i e s on both enas of the propo:sed canal. route offer a

. start ing point vhen cons id.cli ng logia t icn .1 pro5lemr;. Both Coafzacualcosand Salina Cruz have a i r s t r i p s , a.ltlia@ they are only emcrtf;encyfields.Being coas - i a l towns, they should also omer l i m i t e d . but adequate f a c i l i t i e sfor berthing an3 unlcrading ships.zacoetlcos, has a municI@ a2qox-t end- probcbly above weraze harbor f a c i l i t i e s .Tehwtepec has a cm3imtion c i v i l i a n and m i l i t a r y airport. Nanchital, l O C 8 t e dbetween CoatzacoaLcos an6 Minatitlan, has an emergency field.t h w t some of these establislments also k v e long-range communications facilities,if not radto, a t Least te lephone or te letype.indicate the presence of hospitxls , nttintemnce shops etllil re la ted installations.

Mimti t lan , twenty mrles south of Coat-

It is p o b a b l e

Ln addition, population levels

B. Method of SupplyAs stated earlier, ocean transportation would be called upon t o de l ive r

'Oractically a l l equipment and supplies to the t e s t site.QT EU.itaq,y vessels were used would be immaterial.fairly close to a heavikjr tm~re ledsupply route, i .e., t h e P a n a m C a n a l ,indicates t ha t shipping rates shuuld not; be exorbitmit.

Vhether commercialThe fact that the s i t e l i e s

Staging areas andsupply depots both in the ZP and at the site vould have t o be established t owcramTl&te the hescvjr influ of material during the build-up phase.equipen&arrived on site, a distribution syetem would be necessary to channel

Once t h e

the ma%erWto the different c


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Personnel transportation between the 21 and the t e s t s i t e could be byeither commercial or military a i r c r a f t , o r a combination of the t w o .t r a n s f e r point would be necessary, at which individuals would debark from t h einitial a i r c r a f t and obtain transportation to specif ic locat ions within t h e

A

s i t e , Some type of scheduling would be required to provide a continuous opportu-ni ty for rnasrement between the 21 and the s i t e . This procedure would not onlyel iminate any i s o l a t i o n of the test s i t e , but furthermore perrhit emergencypersonnel t r a ve l and also rapid delivery of small c r i t i c a l i t e m s .


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- 24 -Par t VI11

A. Base Camp F a c i l i t yEecause of the long duration of the cons t ruc t i n perf rmanent c mps

must be constructed to house approximately 800 men fo r long periods of t i m e .It i s felt that camp construction would best be &pt& to the needs of thes i t u a t i o n by u t i l i z i n g two types of camps, as follows:

1. Two permsnent camgs capable of housing approximately 300 meneach would be erected - one on the At lan t ic Co a s t and one onthe Pscific Co a s t ends of the proposed car&..would contain necessary shop f a c i l i t i e s , medical f a c i l i t i e s ,communications s t ructures , recreat ional facilities, e t c , andwould be the same t y p e of camps as b u l l t at EX3 f o r a normaltes t upera t ion.Because of the long distance over which work is t o be accom-plished, two additional camps would be regutred.the additional camps would be capable of housing approximately

These camps

2.Each of

100 me n . In order t o always have t he camp at t he work s i t e ,it l e recoxmended that these t w o intermediate camps be mademobile, that all fac i l i t ie s be furnished in t ra i le r mountedunits. These rolling camps could then be moved as the jobgrogresses and cou l d ale0 be evacuated during f i r i n g of devices.

B . Miscellaneous ConstructionBeossuse ef the distwce over uhbh work is t o be awxmplished, it w i l l be

necessary to &o ii large amount of l a ry construction consisting mainly of


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- 25 -roads a n d a i r s t r i p s ,as follows:

Very roughly, this t ype of construction can be sumrraarized

1. R o a a sIn order t o ef fec t ive ly perform construction and deviceplacement along the e n t i r e r o ut e of t h e proposed canal, i tis anticipated that approximately 200 miles of improved roadswould have t o be constructed. These roads would consist ofbladed areas through t h e jungle and constant maintenance wouldbe required.ex is t ing highway running paraLle l to the canal s i t e and thenecessary roards along t h e proposed boute of the canal.

The roads are t o connect t h e work s i t e s t o the '

2. AirstripsBecause of the large distance t o be t raversed, several small.airstrips capable of landing 12-47't y p e ai rcrar t would beconstructed. These would consist of a bladed area coveredwith military type landing mat or other sui table surfacingt o insure s;afe operation of t h e aircraft.

C. Heavy Equipment RequirementsThere is no heavy equipment available i n the area th8 t could be uti l ized

for the construction of the proposed canal.be sh.ipped, making necessary very careful advanced p l a n i n g .of knowledge of th e exact mgnitude of the job and t h e type of t e r r a i n to bewerked, it io not possible at %his tie t o make an itemized l i s t of' the heavy

The e n ti re q u a t i t i e s must necessarilBecause of a Lack

equipme& required. However, baeed on the proposed magnikude of the job, itis erstimaWi .that approximately Ten Miuion Dollars would be requked to purchasethe necessary equipaent.


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II. Time ScheduleBased on present knowledge of the Job to be done, following is a general

schedule of opemtions:1, Admnce Par ty Sw f e y Two Months2 . Ekaluate Data of Advance Partyand Organize Main Suwey Force S ix Months3 . Fdl -Sca le Survey S i x Months4, Evaluate Data fram Main surveyand Organize M ia Work Force Twelve Months3 . Construction and Bccavation Work Forty-ei&t Months

The schedule as outlined above represents the minirmun aount of timethat would be required assuming that necessary air transport,ation is availablefrom the 21 to $ob site and re turn .

E, Cost AnalysisBeoawe of the magnitude of the job and i n t h e absence of spec i f i c

information on th e amount of work t o be done, a c o s t analysis i s extremelyd i f f i c u l t at this stage of planning.i n length, made of the following components:

Very roughly, fo r a c a n a l lX) to 160 mi les*

Channel le- t o be dug - - - - - - - - - - - 118 milesLagoon on the Pacific coast to b e dredged- - - 17 miles


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- 27 -th e order of magnitude costs might be:

1. Heavy Equipment $ 10,000,000m,ooo .600,000

4. Rolling camp NO. 1 { 100 man) 400,0005 , Rolling Camp No. 2 (100 man) 400,000

- 6. S c i e n t i f i c Facilities -:: LOO Stat ions a t 83,000 each 5,ooo,o0O

9 . Manpower Main Work Force800 men - $2,00o/mo, for 4 years 76,800,00010. MisceWeous Materials f o rRoads, A i r s t r i p s and L o c a lComunications

23 percent Contingency 25,160,000T W . . . . . . . . . . . .$125,800,000

The ~bbovedoes not include any allawance for t ranspor ta t ion of equipment fromthe 21 t o Job site, a i r support t o fly personnel to or from t h e work s i t e , orto provide loaal air support at the job site.

F. Post Detonation ConstructionA t this time it is impossible t o a r r i v e a t an approximate co st f o r the

construction of the canal after . t ;he'acantionwork has been completed.ever, from extrapolating the data Srm Jobs of similar magnitude done in other

How-

parts of the! wor ld , it is asawned*t ost detonation c m t r u c t i o n wouldbe in %he order of several b i l l i o n aOuEirs.


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Part IX

COMCLtfSIUN

This report tias attempted to present a preliminary analysis of someof the basic problems that w&d be encountered in building a canal across t i eIsthmus of Tehwtepec. It should be realized that a g rea t deal of additionalplanning would be necessary before any actual construction work could bestar ted.

This project udoubtedly would provide greater cosnnerch1 &vantages thanany of the other four (Boothia Peninsula, Point Barrow, Simpson Strait, and Nome)already considered. There is little guestian t ha t a second cana l between t h eA t l a n t i c and PmFfic 0cea;ls would be heavily t raveled.proposed c a m 1 could accommodate t h e ships presently oarred from the Paaama C a n s 1becauee of excessive size should a l s o be cansidered.for t h e exfsting canal is desirable i n case of hostile action o r naturalcatastrophe that could close one of t h e canals.

The f ac t that the

In adciition, an alternate

Because of the advantages that a c a n a l .Ehrou& the Isthmus of Tehuantepecv o a d provide, fur ther studies of possible construction techniques, surveys, ardeconomic studies should be made to determiue costs, length of construction, andaesirtabiiitl of the ~ a a a ~ .project .


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1

PART X

Survey o f the Isthmus of Tehuantepec - 1872 - by Don Jose de GarayIC 785 G3 , U. of C a . l i f . Library, aerkeleyReports of Explora tions and Surveys o f the Isthmus of Tehuantepec - byRobert W. Shufeldt - 'E 785, U. of C a l i f . Libraqy, aerkeleyMaps of th e Isthmus of Tehuantepec - B. Falfon, 1852 - F 1359 @, AtlasU. of C a l i f . Library, BerkeleyIsthmus o f Tehuantepec - Williams - F 1359 s,U. of C a l i f . Library, BerkeleyMeteorolo@xLLReview of Plexico, published by the Mexican Government, 1950.- U. of Calif. Library, Berkeley

Report of the Governor of The Panama Canal - Under Public Law 280, 79thCongress, 1 s t Session - 626.9War Department L i b r a r y , Washington D.C.P191G, Volumes I, 11, IVMap: World Aeronautical Chart #64t, Tehuantepec Is t h u s , S c a l e 1:1,000,000Map: A m y Map Service, E-15, Istaao de Tehuantepec, J u l y 1954,Scale: lt1,000,000

..Rand-McNally World A t l a s , N e w Census E d i t i o n - 1951


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GROUND PROFIZEFROM

UPPER LAGOON 'Iy) %iE 'I'ARIFA PLAINS

Map i l l u s t r a t e s t h e average ground profile froh the lagoon areaof the P acific ocean t o t h e Tarifa Plains. l'he ground from theTarifa Plains to t h e Atlan t ic i s a slow, even s l o p e , i i t h a fews m a l l , r o l l i n g hills a f t e r one le av es the mountains.

F H. Hiles


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UNIVERSITY OF GAL IFWIA - BERK

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CILART # 3b P

ucrl 126133 isthmus of tehuantepec

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