Canal Latéral à La Loire
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The Canal latéral à la Loire (, "canal parallel to the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
") was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at
Digoin Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin. Geography The river Bourbin ...
, a distance of . It replaced the use of the river
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
, which was unreliable during winter floods and summer droughts. Aqueducts were used to cross the
Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...
at Le Guétin (in the commune of Cuffy) and the Loire at Digoin. However, because of the extreme length required, an aqueduct was not built to cross the Loire at Briare until 1896, when the Briare aqueduct was constructed.


History

By the late 18th century with the completion of the Canal du Centre, the Bourbonnais route from the
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
to the
Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...
was substantially the same as at present, except for the use of the navigable Loire between Briare and Digoin. The introduction of steam haulage and dredging failed to produce the reliability of the canals, so it was in 1822 that the order to build was finally given to the ''Compagnie des Quatre Canaux''. Although the original intention was to place the canal on the right bank, the towns of
Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...
,
la Charité LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
and Cosne had no room for a canal and eventually construction started in 1827 on a canal on the left bank. Two massive stone aqueducts were built at Digoin and at Guétin to avoid level crossings of rivers with length 243m and 470m respectively, but this was not possible at Briare because of the danger of blocking the river during flood periods. With the adoption of the Freycinet gauge in 1879, and the upgrading of the canal system, the frequent delays of several days to cross the Loire at Briare became intolerable. The Briare aqueduct was built over the Loire in Briare between 1890 and 1896 by the engineer Abel Mazoyer to make a connection with the Canal de Briare four locks up from its initial entrance. The Briare aqueduct stands on fourteen piers. These support a single metal beam carrying a trough with more than 13,000 tonnes of water, 2.2 metres deep. The width of the aqueduct, towpaths included, is 11.5 meters and its length is 662.7 meters. Eight sluices make it possible to empty the aqueduct in the event of severe freezing.


En Route

* PK 198 Briare *PK 198 Briare aqueduct *PK 192 Châtillon-sur-Loire *PK 187 left to Châtillon branch canal for access to the river
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
*PK 180 Belleville-sur-Loire *PK 175 Léré *PK 159.5 Saint-Satur or Saint-Thibault *PK 143 Herry *PK 125 Marseilles-lès-Aubigny *PK 100
Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...
*PK 68.5 Decize *PK 53 Gannay-sur-Loire *PK 41 Garnat-sur-Engievre *PK 29 Dompierre-sur-Besbre right canal branch to Dompierre-sur-Besbre *PK 15 Coulanges *PK 4
Digoin Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin. Geography The river Bourbin ...
*PK 0 continues as Canal du Centre


See also

*
List of canals in France This is a list of the navigable canals and rivers in France. For reference purposes, all waterways are listed, including many that have been abandoned for navigation, mostly in the period 1925-1955, but some in later years. Although several source ...


References


External links


Friends of the canal


{{DEFAULTSORT:Canal lateral a la Loire
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
Canals opened in 1838 1838 establishments in France