JeffEngel wrote:anwi wrote:
All true. If I read the maps correctly, there are some probably not minor hills in the way of that particular canal. That's probably the reason, why it's not there already.
However, with railroads on the table, you might want to go for building tunnels and having a track build there. I'd assume that this would be one of the first major railroads that Charis would build - right after this war...
Merlin's forward-area cave, established in OAR, is up near that area on the southern/Tellesberg end. It's a very mountainous spine that effectively isolates (southern) Charis from Margaret's Land. So it would be a real bear for blasting through for a canal, and probably far from easy for a railroad, either underground or over.
That said, I do agree that it's a compelling bit of transportation assistance to take care of. An alternative may be developing a better canal system from Howell Bay through to Margaret's Land's Margaret's Bay, perhaps with a spur west to the ocean coast. The Delthak-Howell Bay portion is already in business; running the rest north from there would be far more distance than the one right across the isthmus, but it's also likely a lot easier going and motivated by local concerns.
That's true but if they were willing to accept a longer canal most likely along the lines of 100 miles long they could go north for the shortest stretch of land where the mountians end.