Excerpt from The Agricultural Possibilities the Canal Zone: Part I. Reconnoissance Soil Survey; Part II. The Outlook for Agriculture

The surface configuration Of that portion not to be inundated is in the main extremely hilly, a fact having considerable bearing upon cultural possibilities. From an agricultural standpoint there are four main topographic divisions, namely: (1) The low, flat coast fringes and the alluvial stream bottoms lying outside Of and princi pally below the level Of Gatun Lake; (2) the narrow strips Of flat to undulating stream bottoms lying largely above the level Of the impounded waters of Gatun Lake; (3) the gentle lower slopes, im perfectly developed lateral ridges, and low hills; and (4) the steep, high hills.

The country on the Atlantic side Of Gatun Lake is characterized by its numerous, very irregularly distributed, low, conical hills ranging in elevation from about 50 to 100 feet. The Monkey Hills near Mount Hope are peculiarly fiat topped and uniformly about 50 feet in height. The higher hills to the west and south have more nearly rounded peaks, many Of which are laterally grooved by Slight drain ageway depressions. But the contours on the whole are remarkably smooth, there being very few abrupt breaks, such as cliffs and deep gorges, a feature that holds good throughout the entire zone. Drain age is through Winding, narrow, smooth-sloped valleys, which often seem more like depressions than true valleys. Topographically this section is fairly well suited to cultivation.

In the Chagres River Valley there are a number Of low, isolated hills which will stand above the level Of Gatun Lake as islands.

Some of these embrace several hundred acres of good clay land, the topography Of which is fairly favorable to cultivation with the plow.

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