The Heusden Canal (Dutch: ''Heusdensch Kanaal'') is a

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 flo ...

on the border of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

provinces

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

and

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

, roughly between

Wijk en Aalburg Wijk en Aalburg is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Altena, North Brabant, Altena, about 15 km northwest of 's-Hertogenbosch. History Aalburg was first mentioned in 889 as ...

and

Heusden Heusden () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden, merged wit ...

. The canal connects the

Afgedamde Maas The Afgedamde Maas (; Dammed-up Meuse) is a former distributary of the Maas River (French: Meuse) in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the ...

and

Bergse Maas The Bergse Maas (; pre-1947 spelling: Bergsche Maas) is a canal that was constructed in 1904 to be a branch of the river Maas (French: Meuse) in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas and the ...

and has a total length of approximately 2.3 km. The canal used to connect the city of Heusden to the main branch of the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. Later on, the original main branch was closed off (Afgedamde Maas) and the river received a new, artificial mouth: the Bergse Maas. After that, the Heusden Canal was improved to maintain a shipping connection between the two Meuse branches. On the Bergsche Maas end, there is a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

named the Kromme Nolkering, and also the only

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the canal; it is part of the N831. The improvement of the canal was required under the Maasmondwet ("Maas Mouth Act") of 26 January 26, 1883.

References

Canals in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Canals in the Netherlands Canals in North Brabant Canals in Gelderland Land van Heusden en Altena Geography of Altena, North Brabant Zaltbommel {{NorthBrabant-geo-stub