Donation Tally Monthly donation target has been reached! Thanks to everyone who donated! Tools Not logged in Status 49 online 5 in chat Server Time: 2010-02-09 13:05:55 UER Swag now available: UER keychain flashlights! click to learn more. Affiliates Av's Photo Site Infiltration Of Interest check out this new book by UER member Slyv! Lots of amazing photos!

NEW! View with Side Frame! Location DB > Canada > Quebec > Montérégie Area > Soulanges Canal  Name Soulanges Canal  Viewing Options Log in to activate viewing options  Database Info created by Emperor Wang on 5/11/2004 12:32 AM last modified by Emperor Wang on 11/14/2006 4:38 AM  Viewability Publically Viewable This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.  Overview  Description An abandoned shipping canal, 23 kms long with a 14 foot draught. It connects Lac St-Louis with Lac St-Francois, bypassing a series of rapids in the Saint Lawrence River. Five locks cover the 84 foot elevation difference between Pointe-des-Cascades at the east end and Coteau-Landing in the west. The Soulanges Canal was self-powered. Located near the middle of the canal is "Le Petit Pouvoir", a small hydro electric generating station. It provided power for the motorized lock gates and illumination for the entire length of the canal at night. Technically, the Soulanges Canal isn't a real UE destination, but it is a nice place to rollerblade or ride your bicycle while checking out the lockworks, bridges and dams. The Chemin du Fleuve runs along the Saint Lawrence River, just south of the canal. Take this road for your return trip and you'll enjoy many scenic views of the river and the Hydro Quebec installations on it.  Basic Information Type: Outdoors Status: Abandoned Accessibility: Open to the public Recommendation: Not very exciting (unless you're historically inclined)  Physical Information Address Between Pointe-des-Cascades and Coteau-Landing Montérégie Area, Quebec Canada Owner: Ministère des Transports du Québec See a map of this location  Hazards Not a good place to go swimming  Interesting Features - 23 km canal - 5 locks - Bicycle/rollerblading path - Hydro electric generating station "Le Petit Pouvoir" - Anchor museum and park at Pointe-des-Cascades - Wilderness area on Lac Saint-Louis - Scenic views along Chemin du Fleuve - National Historic Site at Coteau-du-Lac  Security Measures Open to the public  Historical Dates Built: 1899 Closed: 1960  Required Equipment  Recommended Equipment Bicycle or rollerblades, camera, binocs, lunch.  History Thanks to the Cascades, Split Rock (Rocher Fendu), Cedres and Coteau Rapids, the Saint Lawrence River between Lac Saint-Francois and Lac Saint-Louis is particularly rich with canal building history. Between 1779 and 1783, the Royal Engineers of the British Army built four small canals here. The first canals were just 2.5 feet deep and the locks were just 6 feet wide. These were the first locks ever built on the Saint Lawrence, and possibly the first in all of North America. You can see the remains of one of these canals at the National Historic Site at Coteau-du-Lac. Construction of the Soulanges Canal began in 1892. Built by the Government of Canada to a depth of 14 feet, it opened for business in 1899. During the first half of the 20th century, the Soulanges (along with the Lachine, Cornwall and Galop canals) carried the bulk of Canada's shipping. "Lakers" (ships built for the Great Lakes and their larger canals) used to run huge loads of grain down to the terminal at Prescott. Smaller ships, called "canallers", would haul the grain the rest of the way down to Montreal. By the late 1950s, the Soulanges Canal carried 12 million tons of cargo per year. The original Beauharnois Canal (6 foot draught) was built on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence between 1842 and 1845. In 1929 the Beauharnois Light, Heat and Power Company began excavating a 16 mile long, 3300 foot wide power canal. The Federal Government stepped in to ensure the new canal would be dug deep enough (30 foot draught) to accommodate a future shipping channel. The Saint Lawrence Seaway wouldn't be built for another 25 years yet. When the Beauharnois Canal and powerhouse were completed in 1932, this part of the Saint Lawrence River would never be the same. Most of the river's flow was diverted away from its original course. The completion of the Seaway in 1959 brought the demise of the 14 foot canals. The Soulanges was closed to shipping in 1960. Ownership was transferred from the Government of Canada to the Ministère des Transports du Québec in 1965.  Media Coverage  Future Plans Area residents and business interests want to rehabilitate the canal to create a world-class tourist destination. Not much progress has been made yet.  Stories Add your own story  Photo Galleries Aerial Views and Maps Sat, Jul 17th, 2004 posted by Emperor Wang 9 pictures Le "Petit Pouvoir" Sun, Jul 25th, 2004 posted by Emperor Wang 6 pictures First Ride of the Season Sun, Jul 25th, 2004 posted by Emperor Wang 18 pictures Historic Soulanges Mon, Jul 26th, 2004 posted by Emperor Wang 14 pictures More Historic Soulanges Fri, May 6th, 2005 posted by Emperor Wang 3 pictures East End Soulanges Mon, Jul 11th, 2005 posted by Emperor Wang 13 pictures Add your own photos Mark all galleries as Seen  Web Links Société d'histoire de Coteau-du-Lac F: http://www.rocler....r/000.accueil.html Tourisme-Montérégie F: http://www.tourism...c.ca/index_fr.html Régie intermunicipale du canal de Soulanges E: http://www.canalso...s.com/default2.htm F: http://www.canalso...es.com/default.htm The National Historic Site at Coteau du Lac E: http://www.pc.gc.c...udulac/index_e.asp F: http://www.pc.gc.c...udulac/index_f.asp Saint Lawrence Canal History by James Gilmore E: http://www.hhpl.on...fault.asp?ID=s001a The Canals of Canada by Nobel E. Whitford E: http://www.history...6/vol2/Part4-2.htm Environmental study of the Saint Lawrence River between Valleyfield and Beauharnois (Environment Canada, 1998, 2MB PDF) E: http://www.slv2000...Bilanzip3_4_en.pdf F: http://www.slv2000...Bilanzip3_4_fr.pdf  Contribute Edit this Location  Moderator Rating The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location. Category Rating Photography 6 / 10 Coolness 4 / 10 Content Quality 6 / 10  Validation This location's validation is current. It was last validated by Emperor Wang on 11/14/2006 4:39 AM.  Latest Changes on Nov 14 06 at 4:39, Emperor Wang validated this location on Nov 14 06 at 4:38, Emperor Wang changed the following: Latitude, Longitude, Prefer Satellite on Nov 14 06 at 4:36, Emperor Wang changed the following: Latitude, Longitude, Co-ordinate Accuracy, Web Links on Jul 12 06 at 18:31, Emperor Wang validated this location on Jul 12 06 at 18:31, Emperor Wang changed the following: History on Jun 18 06 at 1:00, Emperor Wang validated this location on Jul 25 05 at 23:09, Emperor Wang updated a gallery picture on Jul 12 05 at 1:06, Emperor Wang updated a gallery picture on Jul 11 05 at 20:10, Emperor Wang updated a gallery picture on Jul 11 05 at 7:09, Emperor Wang updated a gallery picture  Forum Threads about this Location  Who's been looking? Click here to see who'se been looking.  Report Problems Is this location inappropriate / broken / missing key info? If it's something you can fix, please scroll up and click the EDIT button. If this location was only posted a few days ago, give the creator time to work on it. Please try sending a message directly to the creator of the location. You'll find that info at the top of this page. Otherwise, ONLY if you've already tried to contact the original creator,: Click here to notify an administrator. All content and images copyright © 2002-2010 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire. To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site: Avatar-X View Terms of Service | View Privacy Policy This page was generated for you in 187 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 228284712 pages have been generated.