When traveling between continents, water transport is simply indispensable. But even if there is an alternative, it remains the most economical way to move goods.
Unfortunately, water paves its way wherever nature, not man. This lengthens the path, sometimes significantly.
What to do if a person wants to straighten a waterway or “cut a corner” of a route? Digging a channel Meet the ten most famous shipping channels.
10. Mid-German Canal (Germany)
- Length: 326 km
- Connects: Rhine and Oder rivers
The complex complex of hydraulic structures, the construction of which began after the end of World War II, consists of many locks, dams and individual channels connecting the tributaries of large water arteries.
Crossing almost the whole of Germany, Middle German Canal provides transport connectivity of almost all of Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea.
The longest of the canals in Germany - 326 km long - the canal passes through picturesque places and is a popular water excursion route.
In addition to numerous historical sights, in many located along the banks of the canal, tourists are also admired by “water bridges” - navigable aqueducts. The feeling that you literally "swim over the river" leaves an unforgettable experience.
9. Houston Shipping Canal (USA)
- Length: 80 km
- Connects: Texas and Gulf of Mexico
Historically, it was just one of the branches of the Buffalo Bai River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
At the beginning of the 19th century, entrepreneurs August and John Allen farsightedly suggested that the land along the river could be convenient for building settlements and bought up the river's banks.
Gradually, a vibrant city grew along Buffalo Bai, quickly becoming a center of commerce and industry. And the problem arose: ocean ships could park in the Gulf of Mexico - but it would be desirable to build industrial enterprises and trading terminals along the already expanded city.
From 1855 to 1914, work continued to expand and deepen the mouth of the river, and strengthen its banks. As a result, in 1914 was inaugurated "Houston Shipping Canal”, Which actually connects the land area (the center of Texas) with the Gulf of Mexico.
8. Kiel Canal (Germany)
- Length: 98 km
- Connects: Kiel Bay and River Elbe
In 1887, the government of Kaiser Wilhelm II quite practical and quickly set about building a navigable canal designed to connect the basins of the Baltic and North Seas. Previously, this function was performed by the Ayder canal with a length of 175 km (along with the channel of the Ayder river).
Kiel Canal, opened in 1895, provided a shorter route - only 98 km. Moreover, its parameters ensured the wiring of heavy marine vessels, which was indispensable for the growing German navy.
On both sides, the channel ends with a system of locks that allow independent pilotage of small and large tonnage vessels, which increases the capacity of the complex.
7. Volga-Don Canal (Russia)
- Length: 101 km
- Connects: Volga and Don rivers
As early as the sixteenth century, the Turkish Sultan Selim II made an attempt for military purposes to dig a canal between two great rivers. The attempt failed, at that time the Turks did not have the time or the technical capabilities for such an event.
The great reformer Peter I also recognized the importance of the direct waterway for military affairs. By his decree, construction was even begun, but the Northern Wars did not even give the opportunity to develop it.
Only at the end of the 40s of the XX century did manage to develop feasible projects Volga-Don Canal and start their implementation. The hydrotechnical complex, opened in 1962, connects the basins of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.
6. Rhine-Main-Danube Canal (Germany)
- Length: 171 km
- Connects: river rhine and danube
Charles the Great (VIII century AD) in 793 began the construction of the fact that after 1200 years (in 1992) it provided river navigation from the shores of the Atlantic to the Black Sea - also providing access to the North Sea.
Charlemagne began with the construction of the relatively small Carolingian Canal, which connected the tributaries of the Danube and Main.
In the XIX century, the Ludwig Canal was built, but it turned out to be almost non-navigable, and during the Second World War it was almost destroyed.
However, in 1960, the construction of the canal began along the route proposed by Karl the Great, but executed according to modern shipping standards.
Opened in 992, Rhine-Main-Danube Canal contains 16 gateways and is recognized as cultural and historical value.
5. White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (Russia)
- Length: 227 km
- Connects: White Sea (Arctic) and Lake Onega (Baltic)
Mention of the waterway between the White Sea and the Baltic met in sources from the XV century. Peter I was very interested in the idea of arranging a canal between these pools, but only in the 19th century could they begin to develop the project closely.
The Soviet government took advantage of the already prepared - but not implemented - tsarist projects and decided to put them into practice.
During the "first five-year plan" (from 1931 to 1933) forced labor of numerous prisoners, a hydraulic structure was built.
Unfortunately, the speed of the canal construction did not allow to ensure sufficient dimensions of the ship's passage. Large ocean and river-sea vessels have difficulty navigating. But White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal retains its unique significance as a northern tourist route.
4. Corinth Canal (Greece)
- Length: 6 km
- Connects: Aegean Sea and Ionian Sea
As early as the 7th century BC, the Greeks tried to secure a passage from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian. The Isthmus of Corinth connecting the central part of Greece with the Peloponnese peninsula, at its narrowest point, is only 6 km across.
But something kept interfering all the time. Even Nero in the 1st century A.D. had to quit the work already begun, because in Rome an uprising had ripened against him and had to urgently return to his homeland.
But after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the question of transport efficiency arose more than ever, and the Greek government insisted on the completion of the canal.
In 1893, the path was opened and immediately allowed to reduce trans-Greek transit by 400 km.
Now the Aegean and Ionian seas in Greece are connected Corinth Canal 6 km long and 8 m deep. 25 m wide allows passing almost all middle class sea vessels.
3. Panama Canal (Panama)
- Length: 77 km
- Connects: The Caribbean and the Pacific
The need to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans was obvious to all travelers and traders since the VI century. Despite the fact that such a grandiose construction was not possible at that time, the King of Spain Philip II prudently vetoed the design.
In 1879, France tried to seize the initiative and even received a construction concession from the Colombian government. But the work went neither shaky nor roll, and the contractor went broke with an international scandal.
In 1904, the U.S. government set to work. And the opening in 1914 Panama Canal marked the completion of one of the most ambitious projects in human history.
2. Suez Canal (Egypt-Africa)
- Length: 160 km
- Connects: Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea
The ancient Egyptians were well aware of the importance of the shortest trade routes. The first mention of the "channel of the Pharaohs", which connected the Red Sea with the Nile, dates back to the VIII century BC.
By the 2nd century BC the canal was already reliably navigable. And at the end of the 17th century, already of our era, Napoleon Bonaparte during the Egyptian campaign was seriously interested in the restoration of the ancient canal and its extension to the Mediterranean Sea.
The project was fully completed only in 1869, and now ships do not have to go around the African continent on their way from Europe to India.
Favorable architecture Suez Canal (lack of locks, considerable depth and width) allows you to pass even the largest sea vessels, including supertankers.
1. The Grand Canal (China)
- Length: 1782 km
- Connects: yellow river and yangtze
A truly grandiose complex of hydraulic structures connects the waterways of the western, northern and southeastern provinces of China.
For 24 centuries, painstaking canals broke through, dams and sluices were built, which as a result created a system of waterways that entangled almost all of China.
The length of the main channel is 1782 km, but with branches, the total length of the system is 2470 km. The differences in the levels of the connected rivers are compensated by 21 locks. A small (only 2 to 3 meters) depth, however, is quite sufficient for river navigation.
With the development of the railway network, economic importance The great channel decreased slightly. But it remains a grandiose historical monument, and also has value for tourism.