OCR Text |
Show TO MAKE SAHARA A SEA. Would Open to Commerce Great R glons of Africa. French engineers have declared It li perfectly fenslble to convert tho desert ot Sahara Into a vast lake, thus open Ing to commcrbo great regions of tin Interior ot Africa, which can now onlj bo reached by long, tedious and dan gcrous caravan Journeys. They Baj that a largo portion of the descri lies below the levol ot tho Atlantic and that by digging ti canal to let Id the waters ot tho ocean tho groat change could be effected easily and at a cost which would bo small compared com-pared to the bonoHts which would ac crue. If tho wholo desert lay below the level ot tho Atlantic tho flooding ot it would creato a sea moro than four limes as big as tho Mediterranean; hut as tho Sahara Is composed of elevated ele-vated plateaus, mountain ranges and depressions, only a part would bo covered cov-ered with water when tho naves of tho ocean wero let In, and tho new sea thus formed would bo an Irregular Irregu-lar body of water, probably of about tho same size as tho Mediterranean. Great commercial cities would at onco spring up on Its shores nnd trado and civilization strlko at onco to tho heart of Africa. Tho sea of Sahara may nover becomo a reality, but, In any event. It is a gigantic and pleasing dream. |