Canal d'Arles à Fos
| Canal d'Arles à Fos | |
|---|---|
 Arles lock |
|
| location | France , Bouches-du-Rhone department |
| length | approx. 31 km |
| Built | 1820-1830 |
| Beginning | Branch from the Rhône in Arles |
| The End | Confluence with the Canal du Rhône à Fos , Fos-sur-Mer |
| Descent structures | 1 |
| Ports | Arles |
| Blocked for shipping at the south end | |
 |
|
The Canal d'Arles à Fos is a shipping canal in the south of France , which branches off from the canalized Rhône in Arles and runs parallel to the river in a southerly direction to Fos-sur-Mer . Here it reaches the Canal du Rhône à Fos , where it is blocked for shipping by a salt water barrier.
history
In the course of its history, the course of the canal on the Mediterranean side has been changed several times and has therefore always had different names. The original name was Canal d'Arles à Bouc , because when it was built it led from Arles via Fos-sur-Mer to Port-de-Bouc . In the 1970s, the port of Fos-sur-Mer was rebuilt, which meant that the connection to Port-de-Bouc was no longer possible. The canal was therefore divided into the Canal de Fos à Port-de-Bouc and the Canal d'Arles à Fos . However, the transport capacity of the latter was too low and an expansion too expensive, so it was decided in the 1980s to build a shorter and more efficient connection to the Rhône with the Canal du Rhône à Fos . The existing section of the estuary in the port of Fos-sur-Mer was slammed into the new canal and a salt water barrier was built at the point of confluence, which turned the Canal d'Arles à Fos into a dead end for shipping.
course
The canal branches off from the canalised Grand Rhône estuary in the southern urban area of Arles and immediately afterwards reaches the Arles lock , the only one still in operation on this canal. It has a dimension of 100 × 12 meters and was originally developed for large shipping. The canal then reaches the city port of Arles, turns south to south-east and after 31 kilometers at the municipal boundary of Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, it reaches the newly built Canal du Rhône à Fos. However, since the passage at the junction is closed to shipping, it is now mainly used as a flood drain for the area southeast of Arles. Nevertheless, the canal is navigable with ships up to the barrier.
Coordinates
- Starting point of the canal: 43 ° 40 ′ 14 ″ N , 4 ° 36 ′ 47 ″ E
- End point of the canal: 43 ° 27 ′ 59 ″ N , 4 ° 49 ′ 59 ″ E
Places on the canal
- Arles
- Mas Thibert, Arles municipality
- Le Relais, municipality of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône
Attractions
The bascule bridge over the canal ( Bridge of Langlois ) became world famous through the paintings by Vincent van Gogh . The original no longer exists, a similar model was rebuilt a few kilometers away and is now visited by many tourists - Monument historique
literature
- David Edwards-May: Inland waters of France , 5th edition, Verlag Edition Maritim, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-922117-61-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Langlois Bridge in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)