[en] Two-dimensional calculations have been done to determine the feasibility of constructing deep canals with nuclear explosives subject to the limitation in the proposed PNE Treaty. The conditions under which a series of explosives set in a row can be approximated by a cylindrical line source have been determined. Using this result, the possibility of lifting 250 m of overburden with 150-kt charges spaced at 50-m intervals has been investigated. This study shows that for a variety of equations of state for the geological medium, there appears little possibility that such an excavation can be accomplished