Rideau Canal - Ottawa, Ontario
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Weathervane
N 45° 25.487 W 075° 41.713
18T E 445612 N 5030375
The Rideau Canal, completed in 1832, links the Ottawa River in Ottawa to Lake Ontario in Kingston.
Waymark Code: WM14A6D
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/28/2021
Views: 6
"Built between 1826 and 1832, the Rideau Canal is the best-preserved, fully operational example from North America's great canal-building era. Lieutenant-Colonel John By's innovative design was based on a "slackwater" system that linked lakes and rivers on a scale unprecedented in North America. The result was one of the first canals in the world engineered for steam-powered vessels. Its construction though more than 200 kilometres of bush, swamps, and lakes was a monumental feat. Each year, as many as 5,000 workers, mainly Irish immigrants and French Canadians, toiled under the supervision of civil contractors and the Royal Engineers. Working in extremely difficult conditions they endured injury and disease, and hundreds died. This fortified waterway was intended as a safe military supply route between Montréal and Lake Ontario by providing an alternative to the St. Lawrence River. It chiefly served as a key artery for moving goods and people until the 1850s and became a popular recreational destination in the 20th century. The Rideau Canal was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007."
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