Canal de Lalinde

Canal de Lalinde
	Footbridge over the canal in Lalinde
Water code	FR : P --- 0082
location	France , Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
length	15.5 km
Built	1838-1844
class	<I.
Beginning	Mauzac , municipality of Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang
The End	Tuilières , municipality of Mouleydier
Descent structures	5
Ports	Lalinde, Port de Couze, Saint-Capraise-de-Lalinde
Used river	Dordogne
Kilometrage	from Mauzac to Tuilières
	Most of the canal is closed to shipping!

The Canal de Lalinde is a former French shipping canal in the Dordogne in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine . It is a right side channel of the Dordogne River with a length of 15.5 kilometers.

Course of the canal

The canal branches off at the village of Mauzac in the municipality of Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang on the right side of the river from the Dordogne and runs parallel to the river at a distance of 50 to a maximum of 400 meters until its re- confluence at Tuilières in the municipality of Mouleydier . On his way he passes the places Lalinde , with the two docks in Lalinde itself and in Port Couze , as well as Saint-Capraise-de-Lalinde .

Starting point: 44 ° 51 ′ 47 ″ N , 0 ° 47 ′ 59 ″ E44.863055555556 0.79972222222222
End point: 44 ° 50 ′ 49 ″ N , 0 ° 37 ′ 48 ″ E44.846944444444 0.63

technical infrastructure

The canal has a total length of 15.5 kilometers and has nine locks , six of which are arranged at the lower end of the canal in the form of a lock staircase. The lock chambers have a size of 29 × 6 meters and overcome a total difference in height of 21.4 meters.

history

The canal was designed to bypass narrow rivers and rapids on the Dordogne, which hindered navigation with the gabarre boats that are common here . The canal was built between 1838 and 1844. After its commissioning, the Canal de Lalinde served to ensure transport connections in the Dordogne Valley. With the advent of rail competition, however, the canal soon reached the limits of its economic performance. In 1926 the state removed it from the list of navigable waters in France, but continued to use it until 1945.

The entire structure has been registered as a Monument historique since 1996 .

Recovery plans

Efforts are now being made to make this canal navigable again for tourism. Since 2014, the four-kilometer section from Saint-Capraise-de-Lalinde to Port Couze can again be used with tourist gabarres.