Rideau Canal in Canada - North America's oldest operational channel

North America cannot boast of such a grandiose number of shipping channels as Asia or Europe, but there are interesting examples of outstanding hydrotechnical facilities here. For example, the Rideau Canal in Canada, which is the oldest and still operating similar structure on the whole continent. Its appearance reminds of the era when the region was an English colony, and the gateways and many parts of the canal themselves have a pristine appearance and excellent preservation, which creates additional attractiveness for travelers.

The Rideau Canal connects the Canadian capital Ottawa and the city of Kingston, located south of it, on the shores of Lake Ontario. Its construction is directly related to the turbulent military past of this region. At the beginning of the 19th century, a military conflict broke out on the territory of North America between the United States and the British Empire, which owned the modern territory of Canada. During the Anglo-American War, the Great Lakes region was of crucial strategic importance, and the construction of the Rideau Canal gave the British an additional waterway to the Atlantic. The British troops located in Kingston controlled the path to the Great Lakes from the east, and its full supply was one of the priority tasks.

The 202-kilometer canal was to serve these purposes. Despite the fact that the Anglo-American War ended in 1815, the British leadership did not exclude a new conflict with the United States, and therefore continued to strengthen the border regions. The Rideau Canal was opened in 1832 and will soon celebrate its 190th anniversary. The engineer and curator of the project was the British military John Bai, after whom the town at the terminal point of the canal was named. Baytown, originally a town of builders, was later renamed Ottawa and became the capital of Canada.

Despite the venerable age of most of the equipment and hydraulic components, the canal is functioning properly today. True, it does not work all year round: navigation is possible only from May to October. The unique structure is popular among travelers, and in the summer tourist boats run along it.