Dalsland Canal () is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

canal that enables ships to sail between

Lake Vänern A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and central parts of the

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

and southwestern

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

lake districts. The canal runs across the well-known aqueduct at Håverud and is a much visited tourist attraction during the summer months, drawing yachts, motor boats as well as canoeists.

Geography

The canal system stretches from Köpmannebro on

via the Dalsland lakes of Råvarpen, Laxsjön, Lelång and continues into southwestern Värmland by means of the lakes of Foxen, Töck and finally reaches Lake Östen and its extension named Snäcke Canal. The lakes of

Stora Le Stora Le or Lesjön in Swedish language, Swedish and Store Le in Norwegian language, Norwegian is a lake in Dalsland, Sweden, the northern end of which proceeds into Norway and into Värmland, where it continues as Lake Foxen. The lake stretches ...

and both Västra Silen and Östra Silen are also deemed part of the canal system. A boat lift at Strandviken on Stora Le Nössemark enables ships to be loaded onto

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

in Norway and continue their journey down Idefjord and

Svinesund Svinesund is a sound separating the Swedish municipality of Strömstad in the province of Bohuslän in the county of Västra Götaland from the Norwegian municipality of Halden in the county of Østfold. Two bridges, the old and new Svinesun ...

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

is situated 66 m (217 ft) above Lake Vänern. Thirty-one locks help to span this drop. 17 metres of head space along the route enables sail boats to ply the entire length of the canal, in contrast to many other canals in Sweden. However, it pays to note that only 1.8 m (6 ft) of draught and a maximum length of 22.75 m and width of 4.05 m are allowed. Maximum speed on the canal is set at 2.5

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

History

The canal was dug between 1864 and 1868 by engineer

Nils Ericson ''Friherre'' Nils Ericson (born Nils Ericsson; 31 January 1802 – 8 September 1870) was a Swedish mechanical engineer who built canals and railways in Sweden. His younger brother John Ericsson, who emigrated first to England and then the U ...

. Only 12 km (7.5 Mi) out of the 250 km stretch of the canal system had to be dug or

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

d, as Ericson made good use of the numerous lakes which span this area.

Canal use

The canal is exploited by the Dalslands Kanal AB company, seated in

Åmål Åmål () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Åmål Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 9,065 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated on the western shore of Vänern. In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the in ...

. The canal dues are SEK50 per lock for small boats up to SEK2500 for the whole canal back and forth (in 2010). Several shipping companies offer short cruises on the canal. The ''Dalsland kanotmaraton +'' canoeing competition is partly held on lakes forming part of the canal system.

References

* This article is based on the Swedish Dalsland Canal article * Sveriges turistråd

External links

dalslandskanal.se
{{Coord, 58, 51, N, 12, 24, E, display=title, region:SE_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Canals in Sweden Canals opened in 1868

Geography

History

Canal use

See also

References

External links