{{About, water canals, lateral extensions of root canals of a tooth, Root canal#Root canal system
A lateral canal is a canal built along the same
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
as an existing stream. Water for the canal is usually provided by the original natural stream. Many French lateral canals have the word ''latéral'' as part of their name. Examples include
Canal latéral à l'Aisne
The Canal latéral à l'Aisne () is a canal in northern France, which connects the Canal des Ardennes at Vieux-lès-Asfeld to the canalised river Aisne at Condé-sur-Aisne. It is long, with 8 locks. It runs alongside the Aisne. It has junctions ...
, Canal latéral à la Garonne, and Canal latéral à la Marne.
The normal aim of constructing such a canal was to provide a more consistent depth of water for navigation particularly during dry summers and to make navigation easier during periods of flood. Problems often remained where the original course of the river was still used.
See also
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Canal
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 ...
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Summit level canal
A summit-level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. The term refers to a canal that rises to cross a summit then falls down the other side. The summit pound is a level stretch of water at the highest part of the ...