The Dunkirk-Scheldt Canal is a 189 km long series of historic canals, and the canalised river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

that were substantially rebuilt from the mid-1950s up to ca. 1980, with some new sections, from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Seine-Nord Europe Canal.

The route

The route is made up of nine historically distinct waterways, completed by three new lengths (diversion canals). Starting in the port of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Canal de Bourbourg, which is used for a short length, then the Colme diversion canal leads to the

Canal de la Colme The Canal de la Colme is a canal in France and Belgium comprising the Canal de la Haute Colme and the Canal de la Basse Colme. It spans 25 kilometers and has three locks, of which only two remain. It was constructed as a flood way some time in the ...

, upgraded to Watten where it joins the river Aa from

Watten Watten may refer to: Places * Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France ** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile * Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...

to Arques. The route is then made up of the

Canal de Neuffossé Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

from Arques to

Aire-sur-la-Lys Aire-sur-la-Lys (, literally ''Aire on the Lys''; vls, Ariën-aan-de-Leie) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography The commune is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of Saint-Omer, at the junctio ...

(PK 113-93), the

Canal d'Aire The Canal d'Aire is a French canal connecting the Canal de Neufossé in Aire-sur-la-Lys to the Canal de la Deûle in Bauvin. It is a segment of the Canal Dunkerque-Escaut. See also * List of canals in France References External links Pr ...

from

Bauvin Bauvin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French ...

(PK 93-54), the

Canal de la Deûle The Canal de la Deûle is one of the oldest canals in northern France, originally connecting the river Scarpe near Douai with the river Lys at Deûlémont near the Belgian border. Roughly half of its original length has been absorbed in the high ...

from

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

(PK 54-32), the Scarpe diversion canal bypassing the narrow river through the town of Douai (PK 32-24), and the

Canal de la Sensée Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

from

to the junction with the Scheldt at the

Bassin Rond The Bassin Rond is a pond located beside the Canal de la Sensée as it joins the Canal de l'Escaut near Estrun, France. Lakes of Hauts-de-France Landforms of Nord (French department) ...

in Bouchain. KP 0 on the Liaison is Pont-Malin lock on the Escaut, 500m beyond this junction. The river Scheldt is a further 46 km from the lock to the border. The Canal de la Deûle is also a high-capacity waterway, developed and named as a branch of the Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut from Bauvin to the river Lys, but current practice is to use the historic name (or just "Deûle") and to consider it as a separate waterway. The section using the Canal de la Sensée comprises the junction with the Canal du Nord and the projected Seine-Nord Europe Canal, which would replace the former canal completed in 1965 to European Class II dimensions.

References

* Edwards-May, David, ''Inland Waterways of France'' (2010), Imray Ltd., St Ives, Cambs., UK, pp 74–83

External links

French Waterways in Detail – Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut
guide on the French Waterways website {{coord missing, France Dunkerque-Escaut Buildings and structures in Nord (French department) Transport in Hauts-de-France Canals opened in 1968