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Salina Cruz

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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A seaport of Mexico, in the state of Oaxaca, at the southern terminus of the Tehuantepec National Railway. It is situated near the mouth of the Tehuantepec river, on the open coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and has no natural harbour. There was only ,a small Indian village here before Salina Cruz was chosen as the Pacific terminus of the railway. Since then a modern town has been laid out and built on adjacent higher ground. The new port was opened to traffic in 1907 and in 1909 its population was largely composed of labourers. A costly artificial harbour has been built by the Mexican government to accommodate the traffic of the Tehuantepec railway. It is formed by the construction of two breakwaters, the western 3260 ft. and the eastern 1900 ft. long, which curve toward each other at their outer extremities and leave an entrance 635 ft. wide. The enclosed space is divided into an outer and inner harbour by a double line of quays wide enough to carry six great warehouses with electric cranes on both sides and a number of railway tracks. Connected with the new port works is one of the largest dry docks in the world-610 ft. long and 89 ft. wide, with a depth of 28 ft. on its sill at low water. The works were planned to handle an immense volume of transcontinental freight, and before they were finished four steamship lines had arranged regular calls at Salina Cruz; this number has since been largely increased.