Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi was a masterpiece of 17th century engineering design and construction, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, thereby bypassing the Straits of Gibraltar and circumnavigation of the Iberian Peninsula with its exposed Atlantic coast.
The Canal du Midi, originally known as the Canal Royale de Deux Mers (Royal Canal of Two Seas), was authorized by King Louis XIV in 1666 not only as a means of improving transportation between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, but also as a symbol of the power and prestige of the French monarchy. Following more than a thousand years of dreams and unfulfilled plans for a man-made waterway that would connect the two bodies of water, Pierre Paul Riquet, using the knowledge of the topography and hydrology of Languedoc he had acquired during more than 30 years of work as a tax collector in the region, produced a plan that would overcome the obstacle which had stymied previous efforts to even undertake the construction of such a waterway. His plan, developed with the help of François Andréossy and Pierre Campmas, consisted of not only a canal, but also a means for collecting, storing and delivering to the canal water needed for lockages so that the canal could be equipped with locks that would carry boats over the 189-meter summit that separated the Mediterranean and Atlantic watersheds.
Riquet planned a system that included the longest canal in Europe, the biggest dam and reservoir in the world at St. Ferreol and diversions and feeder channels to collect flows from streams along the eastern portion of the canal route, transport the collected streamflow to the St. Ferréol Reservoir for storage, and convey releases from the reservoir to the canal when needed to provide water for lockages. The conception of the project was ingenious and its scale was monumental. Riquet employed more than 12,000 men and women to construct the canal and the dam, diversions and channels included in the system. They also built more than 130 bridges over the canal for roadways that crossed its route, spillways to discharge excess flow that entered the canal from local runoff, and aqueduct bridges to carry the canal over natural streams along its route. Among the locks was an eight-lock staircase near Fonserannes to overcome an elevation difference of more than 20 meters and a unique round lock with three gates to allow navigation traffic access to an existing port at Agde on the Mediterranean. Work on the canal and all of the elements needed to make it operational was completed in 14 years.
The Canal du Midi is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a masterpiece of 17th century engineering design and construction.
