Canal de la Sauldre
The Canal de la Sauldre (also: Canal de Sologne ) is an old French shipping canal in the Sologne region , which today runs through the Cher and Loir-et-Cher departments . It was built in the years 1848–1869 and slightly extended in 1885. Shipping on it has ceased.
Geographical course
It runs from La Sablonnière in the municipality of Blancafort to the west, passes the town of Argent-sur-Sauldre and ends after 47 kilometers in Lamotte-Beuvron . In this way it connects the valley of the Sauldre with that of the Beuvron . The canal is completely isolated and has no connection to other shipping routes .
Various projects like
- a connection with the Canal de Berry ,
- a connection with the Loire (near Sully-sur-Loire ), or
- a connection with the Loire Lateral Canal (near Châtillon-sur-Loire )
could not be realized for financial reasons.
Coordinates
- Starting point of the canal: 47 ° 31 '18 " N , 2 ° 32' 45" E
- End point of canal: 47 ° 35 ′ 53 ″ N , 2 ° 1 ′ 23 ″ E
Technical characteristics
The canal has 22 locks and is classified as a connecting canal . It overcomes a height difference of 63 meters. For better water supply was water reservoir of Puits created. The canal was built on the basis of the neighboring Canal de Berry only for the ship size of Gabarit Dutens . The canal has an average width of 7.70 meters, the locks have a dimension of 30 × 2.70 meters. Only a very special type of ship could operate here, the Flûte Berrichonne . This had a maximum size of 27.50 × 2.60 meters, could carry a load of 60 tons and was inspired by the English narrowboats .
Economic development
The Canal de la Sauldre was built with the aim of improving agriculture in the Sologne. It should make it possible to supply the acidic, sterile soil of this area with large amounts of marl , which was mined around Blancafort, and thus to increase agricultural yields. In the years after its completion, the canal was used intensively (644 marl transports in 1874), but in reality it came too late. The main problem was not competition from the railways, but the fact that, with the development of artificial fertilizers by the chemical industry, the technology of lime, through the use of marl, lost its importance. As the transport capacity continued to decrease, the canal was removed from the list of navigable waters in France in 1926 and sold by the state to the local authorities in 1995 . Today the Syndicat Mixte pour l'Aménagement et le Développement de la Sologne (SMADS) is looking for new uses in the leisure and tourism sector.
