Rough notes of an exploration for an inter-oceanic canal route by way of the rivers Atrato and San Juan, in New Granada, South America

Abstract

Bocas Tardna and Matuntiibo discharge much greater volumes of water than any of the others; consequentlyj the balance of power between their streams, and the waters of the gulf, takes place at greater distances from the shore ; making the most dangerous parts of their bars at about a mile outside of their entrance into the sea. Any attempt to improve either of these mouths, (or that of Pava or CandeMria,) so as to be, at all times, available for vessels of but six feet draft, would not only be attended with great expense; but would, in my opinion, involve the utmost hazard of ifailure. I have no hesitation in admitting that I am unacquainted with any scheme that can be confidently recommended for the permanent accomplishment of that purposeand shall, therefore, not occupy time in discussing the various expedients that might be supposed applicable. All attempts of the kind, under similar circumstances, have proved signal failures; and the resources of engineering science afford no aid in cases of such magnitade as would be involved in this instance. The other, and smaller mouths lying further inside the Gulf of Urabd are also subject, though in a less degree, to-the same class of impediments. The one which I regard as most susceptible of improvement <if a somewhat permanent character, at a moderate expense, and on a small scale, (say, for instance, one that would secure a depth sufficient for "veS-'sels of six or eight feet draft,) is that of Coq6ito.

¿A dónde se fue la fortuna? Historia económica y social del Chocó, Colombia

“…Varias expediciones técnicas internacionales fueron realizadas para explorar las alternativas de construcción del canal interoceánico por el Chocó (Lane 1854;Trautwine, 1854;Michler, 1861;Collins, 1874). Estas tuvieron conclusiones con diversos grados de optimismo sobre las ventajas comparativas referente a las otras posibles rutas en el continente.…”

“…Igualmente, Jiménez (2001) reconstruye el proceso de integración de este territorio al orden nacional durante las reformas liberales a mediados del siglo XIX, bajo el contexto discursivo de relaciones de raza, poder y clases sociales. Otros documentos aportan información técnica de los estudios de factibilidad auspiciados por el congreso de los Estados Unidos para la construcción del Canal Interoceánico del Chocó en la mitad del siglo XIX (Lane 1854;Trautwine, 1854;Michler, 1861;Collins, 1874). Leal (2008) describe cómo el aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales transformó algunas relaciones económicas y el poblamiento, suscitando disputas territoriales por el acceso a las fuentes de recursos entre la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX.…”

Introduction

“…64 "I suspect that there are few places on the face of the earth where rains are more frequent than in the region about Quibdó," the capital of Chocó, an American surveyor rightly surmised in the 1850s; "It probably does not happen twenty times in a year, that twenty-four successive hours pass without more or less rain." 65 This ceaseless rain filled Chocó's two main gold-bearing riversthe Atrato River in the north and the San Juan River in the southin addition to the hundreds of auriferous rivers, tributaries, and streams that formed an almost dizzying aquatic maze. The region's intense rainforest humidity was often blamed for impeding its colonization by Europe and, later, economic development.…”