A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAPE COD CANAL
The idea of constructing a canal through the Isthmus of Cape Cod
to connect Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay was first considered and
explored by Miles Standish of Plimoth Colony in 162F. F=
____
During the Revolutionary War, George Washington saw a need for a
canal to "give greater security to navigation and against the
enemy" and ordered a survey of a route in 177G. The
engineer's report recommending that a canal be built survives as
the first known canal survey. G= ____
During the late 1800s, a major toll was taken around Cape Cod by
shipwrecks. The Cape's treacherous outer banks claimed on average
one shipwreck every E weeks, and pressure mounted to build a
canal as more cargo, ships and lives were lost. E= ____
In 1904 the wealthy financier August Belmont became interested
in the canal project. His company began construction, and Belmont
lifted the first ceremonial shovelful of earth on June 22, 1909. On
July 29, 191A, the Cape Cod Canal was officially opened by
Mr. Belmont to vessels of up to 15 foot draft. Belmont achieved his
objective of opening the Cape Cod Canal before the Panama Canal,
which opened 1C days later. A= ____
C= ____
Unfortunately, the original canal never achieved the level of
traffic or revenue its investors had envisioned. Several serious
accidents caused lengthy closures and mariners began to fear the
swift currents and narrow bridge openings. By 191X Belmont
had already attempted to sell the faltering canal to the federal
government. H= X-2:____
On July 22, 191Y, a German submarine fired on an American
tug boat in waters three miles off the coast of Nauset Beach in
Orleans. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the Federal Rail Road
Administration to take over and operate the canal as a war measure
to assure greater coastwise navigational safety. After World War I
Belmont's Boston, Cape Cod and New York Canal Company reluctantly
resumed operation of the canal while negotiating with the federal
government for its sale. On March 30, 1928, an agreement was
reached to sell the canal to the government for $11,500,000.
I=Y-2: ____
On March J1, 1928 Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to operate and improve the foundering canal. The toll
was eliminated and a massive waterway improvement program was
undertaken. Three new bridges were constructed with greater
vertical and horizontal clearances, a straight approach was created
through Buzzards Bay to replace the sharply curving channel, and
dikes were constructed to reduce the need for maintenance dredging.
J= ____
Recognizing the need to widen and deepen the canal, in 1935
construction was begun to make the channel B80 feet wide, 32
feet deep at mean low water, and 1D.4 miles long.
Construction was completed in 1940, making the Cape Cod Canal the
widest sea level canal in the world. This broader, deeper and safer
two-way canal attracted three times as many vessels and eight times
as much cargo tonnage as had Belmont's canal in its last year of
operation. Today vessels up to 825 feet in length can use the Cape
Cod Canal, which saves mariners an average of 135 miles of
coastwise travel while circumnavigating Cape Cod. B= ____ D=
____
The canal was designated as a National Historic Civil
Engineering landmark in 1985.
Source: US Army Corps of Engineers Canal History
The cache can be found at:
41° AB.CDE
070° FG.HIJ
Please note that instructions for calculating parking coordinates
are included under additional waypoints. The canal you've just
learned about is nearby - to gain access, subtract .039 from the
final north coordinates and subtract .086 from the final west
coordinates.
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