The Ob–Yenisei Canal, also known as the Ket-Kas Canal is a disused waterway that connected the basins of the rivers Ob and

Yenisei The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam b ...

in Siberia. Ob-Yenisei Canal

Location

Sentinel-2 L1C image on 2019-05-10 Ob-Enisei canal

The waterway connected the

Ket River 300px, The Ket was a part of the Siberian River Routes. The Ket (), also known in its upper reaches as the Bolshaya Ket () is a west-flowing river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tomsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob. The Ket has a ...

, a tributary of the Ob with the

Greater Kas River Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

, a tributary of the

, making use of their tributaries and lakes. The divide between the two river systems (which is also the border between today's

Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited loca ...

and

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

) is spanned by a hand-dug canal 8 km long, 20 m wide at the bottom, and 2.1 m (7 feet) deep.

History

The canal was built in a period between 1882 and 1891, but was too shallow and narrow to compete with the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

. Plans to improve the canal were considered around 1911, but were abandoned due to the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The canal was severely damaged during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and closed for navigation in 1921. The canal was used one more time in 1942, when three steamboats and a cutter managed to make their way from the Yenisei to the Ob, but the passage was extremely difficult. The canal is now fully abandoned. It is occasionally reached by tourists using

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s, cars, or bicycles, or on foot.

References

* ''Евсеева Н. С.'' География Томской области. (Природные условия и ресурсы.). — Томск: Изд-во Томского ун-та, 2001. — 223 с. — С. 28–30. *
''Дмитрий Лапин''. Печальная история одного грандиозного проекта // Красноярский Рабочий, 05.09.2003

Спутниковое фото
(Wikimapia)

External links

Some pictures of the canal
Transport in Siberia Canals in Russia Buildings and structures in Tomsk Oblast Buildings and structures in Krasnoyarsk Krai COb-Yenisei COb-Yenisei Canals opened in 1891 Transport in Tomsk Oblast Transport in Krasnoyarsk Krai {{DEFAULTSORT:Ob-Yenisei Canal