Juan Manuel Sole
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal in Scotland, connects the east coast of Scotland at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. It has a distance of about 100 kilometers from northeast to southwest. Only a third of the entire length is artificial, the rest is made up by Dochfour Loch, Loch Ness, Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. These lochs are part of the Great Glen, a geological fault in the Earth's crust. There are 29 locks (including eight at Neptune's Staircase, Banavie), four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal. The canal was designed by engineer Thomas Telford, ably supported by William Jessop and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000.
It was however never a commercial success. Originally the canal was too narrow with poor construction in some places. It was deepened in 1847 (work designed by Telford closest partner, James Walker) at a time when most boats were too big and Inverness soon became connected with the Lowlands by rail. The canal is currently used mainly for yachting. The entity that maintains and manages the canal is British Waterways, a government organization. The canal is also called the Great Glen Waterway) in Gaelic.
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