The Canal du Rhône à Sète (lit. "canal from the Rhône to Sète") 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 fl ...

in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, which connects the Étang de Thau in Sète to the

Rhône River The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

in Beaucaire, Gard. The canal is made up of two previously constructed canals, the Canal des Étangs and

Canal de Beaucaire The Canal de Beaucaire was a canal in southern France. It is now part of the Canal du Rhône à Sète along with the Canal des Ètangs. The originator was to be the Marshal de Noailles. However he did nothing and his concession was revoked. I ...

. It connects with the Canal du Midi through the Étang de Thau. There is, however, no access to the Rhône at Beaucaire as the lock has been closed since the Vallebregues barrage was built. The possibility of re-establishing the link "is being studied, but there is no prospect for the immediate future".Guide Fluvial du Rhône - Guide Vagnon Access to the Rhône is instead via the lock situated to the west of Saint-Gilles which links the canal to the

Petit Rhône Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua *Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four *Petit Gâteau *Pet ...

and from there northeastwards to the junction with the Grand Rhône at Fourques situated to the north of

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

. Apart from the lock at Saint-Gilles there is only one other operating lock on the canal between St Gilles and Beaucaire. The canal is almost totally situated at sea level and the western part from the Vidourle river to the Étang de Thau is a sea-water canal. In recent years major work has been undertaken to upgrade the canal so it can now be used by 1200t convoys instead of the previous 350t barges. Most notable are a stretch of canal bypassing the town of

Aigues-Mortes Aigues-Mortes (; oc, Aigas Mòrtas) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitania region of southern France. The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved. Situated on the junction of the Canal du Rhône à Sèt ...

with its railway swing bridge and a direct canal link to the port of Sète eliminating the passage of lifting and swing bridges in Frontignan and Sète.

En Route

* PK 0 Beaucaire * PK 13.5 Bellegarde * PK 24.5 Saint-Gilles * PK 29 Junction with Canal de Saint-Gilles and Petit-Rhône (canal a dead end from here to Beaucaire) * PK 51

, junction with Canal maritime to Le Grau-du-Roi * PK 61.5 Grande Motte * PK 70.5 Pérols * PK 75.5

Palavas-les-Flots Palavas-les-Flots (; Languedocien: ''Palavàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Geography Palavas is a seaside resort, some six km south of Montpellier, at the Gulf of Lion and the Mediterranea ...

, junction with river Lez, access to Port Ariane for Montpellier and to the Mediterranean Sea * PK 79 Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone * PK 82 Vic-la-Gardiole * PK 92-93 Frontignan, junction with high-capacity branch canal to the port of Sète * PK 98-100 Sète

References

External sources

Canal du Rhône à Sète
and Étang de Thau, with maps and details of places, ports and moorings by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Canal du Rhone a Sete Rhone a Sete Buildings and structures in Gard Buildings and structures in Hérault Transport in Occitania (administrative region)

En Route

See also

References

External sources