Joigny Flood Lock (Remnants) - River Yonne (Lower section) - Joigny - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This was a flood lock on the River Yonne to the west of Joigny. It is situated just downstream of the current flood lock at the entrance to the Dérivation de Joigny> This is a cut that leaves the river at Joigny and rejoins it 3 1/2 kilometres downstream at Saint-Aubin-sur-Yonne.

The gates were only closed when the river is in spate and there was danger of damage being caused by the flow to the banks of the cut.

The upper (navigable) section of the river runs from Auxerre down to Migennes and has nine locks numbered from 1 to 9. The lower section runs from Migennes down to Moneterau-faux-Yonne where it meets the River Seine. There are 17 locks on the lower section numbered 1 to 17.

Over the first 22km, down to the junction with the Canal de Bourgogne, it forms part of the Nivernais route, a cross link between the Bourgogne and Bourbonnais routes from Paris to Lyon. The rest of the waterway forms part of the Bourgogne route, the shortest but most heavily locked of the three main routes across central France. The Yonne is an attractive cruising river, with huge locks but little commercial traffic (except in the lower reaches). The river is avoided by lock-cuts at three places: Gurgy, Joigny and Courlon.

History – The river was a free-flow navigation through the ages, until Poirée successfully tested in 1834 (near Clamecy) his design for a needle weir. The design was improved by Thenard five years later, and the Government then approved works to canalise many rivers on this basis. One weir and lock were built on the Yonne after 1840, but most of the works were conducted from 1861. The locks were enlarged to Freycinet standards in the late 19th century, then again to their current dimensions after World War II.

Waterway Name: River Yonne Connected Points: The canalised river Yonne extends from Auxerre, where it joins the Canal du Nivernais, to its confluence with the Seine at Montereau, a distance of 108km. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1872 Elevation Difference (meters): .00 Site Status: Remnants Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Logs marked as “visits” should be made after physically visiting the waymark location. Include a picture taken during the visit. Notes may be logged by individuals who have visited the web site or looked at the online information and would like to provide comments or feedback on the waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.