Amusing Dunia: Canal du Midi France

The Strait of Gibraltar betwixt Europe in addition to Africa isn’t the but waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 K kilometer due north lies some other connecting route. This road connects the French urban inwardness of Bordeaux , nigh the Atlantic body of body of water , to the Mediterranean port of Sète through a serial of canals collectively called Canal des Deux Mers , or the “canal of the 2 seas.” Lying solely inward Southern French Republic this man-made canal is i of the nearly remarkable feats of civil applied scientific discipline carried out inward the 17th century.

canal-du-midi-3

Photo credit: Gemma Llorensí Torrent/Flickr

Canal des Deux Mers consist of 2 canals. From the Mediterranean port of Sète to Toulouse , a distance of 240 km , runs Canal du Midi. From Toulouse to the town of Castets-en-Dorthe , 193 km away , the canal is called Canal de Garonne. The residuum of the road to Bordeaux uses the Garonne River. The 2 canals—Canal du Midi in addition to Canal de Garonne— together amongst the Garonne River form the Canal des Deux Mers which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Often , the entire canal is called Canal du Midi.

Before the canal was constructed , the month-long sea voyage through the Straits of Gibraltar was fraught amongst dangers , to a greater extent than oftentimes than non from pirates in addition to intense storms the strait was subjected to because of its form in addition to physical geography.

The possibility of edifice an choice road through French Republic was start discussed past times the ancient Romans. Later , many French kings expressed involvement inward constructing a canal which could avoid the passage roughly Espana , but the technological challenges were also cracking to overcome. The primary difficulty was inward supplying sufficient H2O at the watershed , which is at a much higher elevation betwixt the Mediterranean in addition to the Atlantic.

canal-du-midi-1

It wasn’t until the 17th century that the start realistic projection for the canal was drafted. In 1662 , an engineer named Pierre-Paul Riquet proposed bringing H2O downwards from the Black Mountain to a watershed nigh Seuil de Naurouze , the highest betoken inward the canal , from where the H2O could catamenia both to the Mediterranean in addition to the Atlantic. The logistics were immense in addition to complex , in addition to the projection itself looked precarious. Despite this , King Louis XIV was keen to proceed because of the increasing toll in addition to danger of transporting cargo in addition to merchandise roughly southern Espana where pirates were common. Construction of the canal began inward 1667 in addition to ended inward 1681 , in addition to the canal opened equally Canal Royal du Languedoc. In these xiv years , Pierre-Paul Riquet solved many applied scientific discipline problems that even then challenges river carry today.

Pierre-Paul Riquet’s canal—renamed Canal du Midi during the French Revolution of slow 18th century— reached but equally far equally Toulouse. Riquet wanted to maintain the canal closer to the Atlantic but miserable finances of Louis XIV emptied the kingdom's coffers in addition to the projection never materialized. Riquet himself died a yr earlier Canal du Midi was completed. It took some other 2 centuries earlier Canal de Garonne could last dug connecting Canal du Midi amongst the Atlantic.

For 2 hundred years later the completion of Canal du Midi wheat in addition to vino growers inward the Languedoc share relied heavily on the canal for their trade. Wheat , vino , in addition to alcohol were exported from Lauragais to Toulouse , Bordeaux , in addition to Marseille , in addition to produces from other regions such equally Marseille lather , rice , starch , dried fish , spices in addition to dyes were import to Languedoc.

Canal traffic reached its peak inward the pump of the 19th century. After that , railways became the preferred manner of carry in addition to boat traffic on the canal declined. Although the canal never became the grand international road envisaged past times the kings of French Republic , it continued to cater to the local tradesmen carrying barges of vino in addition to grain equally slow equally the 1980s.

Today , Canal du Midi is used primarily for recreation boating in addition to other H2O sports , in addition to is a major tourist attraction. It is also possible to cycle in addition to hike along the banks for the entire length of Canal des Deux Mers from Sète to Bordeaux equally it twists in addition to turns through the countryside , through vineyards in addition to sunflower fields , in addition to through delightful lilliputian villages in addition to past times cafes.

In 1996 the channel in addition to a buffer zone of 2 ,000 foursquare km were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

canal-du-midi-13