Canal de la Somme

Canal de la Somme
The entrance of the Canal de la Somme from the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
Specifications
Length	156.5 km (97.2 mi) ^[1]
Locks	25 ^[1]
Total rise	66 m (217 ft)
History
Construction began	1770
Date completed	1843
Geography
Start point	English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
End point	Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon

Canal de la Somme

The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Until 2005, it joined the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon. The Somme River was canalized beginning in 1770. The 54 km section from St. Simon to Bray was completed by 1772, but the rest was not finished until 1843.^[2]

Overview

The length and number of locks varies by who is describing the canal:

126 km (78 mi) and 21 locks from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Péronne.^[2]
156.5 km (97.2 mi) and 25 locks from St. Simon to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.^[1]
Three segments made up of:
- 14.2 km (8.8 mi) and 1 lock from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Abbeville,
- 105.6 km (65.6 mi) and 18 locks from Abbeville to Péronne,
- 16.4 km (10.2 mi) and 4 locks from Voyennes to St. Simon.^[3]

Some of this difference of opinion is certainly caused by the fact that the canal is made of two segments, the Grande Somme and the Petite Somme. These two segments are separated by a 20 km section of the Canal du Nord with two locks. The Grande Somme is 120 km with 19 locks from English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Canal du Nord at Péronne. The Petite Somme from the Canal du Nord at Voyennes to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon was closed to traffic in 2005.^[2]

In the 1960s, more than 300,000 tonnes of goods were transported on the canal. Today it is used largely by pleasure boats.

1 2 3 McKnight, Hugh (2005). Cruising French Waterways, 4th Edition. Sheridan House. ISBN 978-1-57409-087-1.
1 2 3 Jefferson, David (2009). Through the French Canals. Adlard Coles Nautical. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-4081-0381-4.
↑ Vois Navigables France Itinéraires Fluviaux. Editions De L'Ecluse. 2009. ISBN 978-2-916919-21-8.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canal de la Somme.

Canal de la Somme guide Places, ports and moorings on the canal, including St-Valery as an entry port into the French waterways.

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