The construction of the Suez Canal, essentially a ditch dug through a flat, sandy desert, had presented few challenges; but Panama will be a very different situation.

The mountainous spine of Central America comes to a low point at Panama, but still rises to a height of one hundred and ten meters (three hundred and sixty point nine feet) above sea level at the lowest crossing point.

A sea-level canal, as proposed by de Lesseps, will require a prodigious excavation, and through varied hardnesses of rock rather than the easy sand of Suez.

A less obvious barrier is presented by the rivers crossing the canal, particularly the Chagres River, which flows very strongly in the rainy season.

This water cannot not simply be dumped into the canal, as it would present an extreme hazard to shipping; and so a sea-level canal will require the river, which cuts right across the canal route, to be diverted.