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The Caledonian Canal in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness
Inverness

Inverness is a City status in the United Kingdom in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland Council areas of Scotland, and it is promoted as the capital of the Scottish Highlands....
 with the west coast at Corpach
Corpach

Corpach is a large village near Fort William, Scotland, in the Scottish Highlands....
 near Fort William
Fort William, Scotland

Fort William is the largest town in the Scottish Highlands of Scotland and second largest settlement behind the city of Inverness.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles....
.

It runs some 62 miles (100 kilometres) from northeast to southwest.






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Scotland Fortaugustus Caledoniancanal
Caledoniancanal
The Caledonian Canal in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness
Inverness

Inverness is a City status in the United Kingdom in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland Council areas of Scotland, and it is promoted as the capital of the Scottish Highlands....
 with the west coast at Corpach
Corpach

Corpach is a large village near Fort William, Scotland, in the Scottish Highlands....
 near Fort William
Fort William, Scotland

Fort William is the largest town in the Scottish Highlands of Scotland and second largest settlement behind the city of Inverness.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles....
.

It runs some 62 miles (100 kilometres) from northeast to southwest. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness
Loch Ness

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 km southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 metres above sea level....
, Loch Oich
Loch Oich

Loch Oich is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms part of the Caledonian Canal, of which it is the highest point. This narrow loch lies between Loch Ness and Loch Lochy in the Great Glen....
, and Loch Lochy
Loch Lochy

Loch Lochy is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland , Scotland. With a mean depth of 70 m, it is the third deepest loch of Scotland.Located 16 kilometers southwest of Loch Ness along the Glen Albyn, the loch is over 15 kilometers long with an average width of about 1 kilometer....
. These lochs are part of the Great Glen
Great Glen

The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth to Fort William, Highland at the head of Loch Linnhe....
, a geological fault in the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's crust
Crust (geology)

In geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle . Crusts of Earth , our Moon, Mercury , Venus, and Mars have been generated largely by igneous processes, and these crusts are richer in incompatible elements than their respective mantle s....
. There are 29 locks
Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber whose water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself that rises and falls....
 (including eight at Neptune's Staircase
Neptune's Staircase

Neptune's Staircase is a staircase canal lock comprising eight locks on the Caledonian Canal. It is the longest staircase lock in the United Kingdom, and lifts boats 64 feet ....
, Banavie
Banavie

Banavie is a small settlement near Fort William, Highland in the Highland of Scotland.It was formerly where the Camanachd Association, the ruling body of shinty was based, but this has now been moved to Inverness....
), four aqueduct
Aqueduct

File:Tomar December 2008-4.jpgAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable canal constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s and 10 bridges in the course of the canal.

The canal was designed by engineer Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford was born in Langholm, Scotland, UK. He was a stonemason, architect and civil engineer and a noted road, bridge and canal builder....
 ably supported by William Jessop
William Jessop

William Jessop was a noted England civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries....
 and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000, but was never a great commercial success. As the canal was originally built too shallow and suffered from poor construction in places, most traffic still used the sea route. It was not deepened until 1847 (work designed by Telford's close associate, James Walker
James Walker (engineer)

James Walker, FRS, was an influential Scotland civil engineer of the first half of the 19th century.Walker was born in Falkirk and was apprenticed to his uncle Ralph Walker in approximately 1800, with whom he gained experience working on the design and construction of the West India Docks and East India Docks in London....
) by which time most ships were too large, and Inverness
Inverness

Inverness is a City status in the United Kingdom in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland Council areas of Scotland, and it is promoted as the capital of the Scottish Highlands....
 was soon connected to the Lowlands
Lowlands

Lowlands or The Lowlands can refer toGeographic regions* Scottish Lowlands, all of mainland Scotland that isn't the Highlands * Northern European Lowlands, a region of Europe between the Central Highlands and the North Sea...
 by railway. The canal is now mainly used by pleasure craft. It is maintained and operated by British Waterways
British Waterways

British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by government. It is the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals of Great Britain, and also some rivers and docks....
, a governmental organisation.

The canal has several names in Scottish Gaelic including, "Amar-Uisge/Seòlaid a' Ghlinne Mhòir" (Waterway of the Great Glen
Great Glen

The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth to Fort William, Highland at the head of Loch Linnhe....
) and a literal translation "Sligh'-Uisge na h-Alba".

Bibliography

  • Cameron, A.D. (2005). The Caledonian Canal. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-403-7.
  • Hadfield, Charles and Skempton, A.W. (1979). William Jessop, Engineer. Newton Abbot: David & Charles
    David & Charles

    David & Charles is a publisher specialising in illustrated non-fiction books. The company was founded in the small town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield ....
    . ISBN 0-7153-7603-9
  • Hutton, Guthrie [n.d.]. Getting to know... The Caledonian Canal, privately published.
  • Hutton, Guthrie (1998). The Caledonian Canal: Lochs, Locks and Pleasure Steamers. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-033-3.
  • Lindsay, Jean (1968). The Canals of Scotland. Newton Abbot: David & Charles
    David & Charles

    David & Charles is a publisher specialising in illustrated non-fiction books. The company was founded in the small town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield ....
    , ISBN 0-7153-4240-1.


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