Soulanges Canal facts for kids
The Soulanges Canal is an old shipping canal located in Quebec, Canada. It runs along the north side of the Saint Lawrence River, connecting Pointe-des-Cascades and Coteaux-Landing. This canal was built to help boats get around the fast-moving water, called rapids, between Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Francis. Along its path, it goes through towns like Les Cèdres and Coteau-du-Lac.
Before the Soulanges Canal, there was another canal called the first Beauharnois Canal on the south side of the Saint Lawrence. The Soulanges Canal took its place. It is about 23 kilometers (14 miles) long and was deep enough for boats with a 4.3-meter (14-foot) draft (how deep a boat sits in the water). It had five special water elevators, called locks, which were 85.3 by 14 meters (280 by 46 feet) each. These locks helped boats go up or down a total of 25 meters (82 feet).
The Canal's Name and History
The Soulanges Canal got its name from the Soulanges Seigneury, which was a large piece of land given out in 1702. It was given by Governor Louis-Hector de Callière to Pierre-Jacques de Joybert, who was a knight and lord from Soulanges.
How the Canal Worked
The Soulanges Canal was very modern for its time! It was powered by a small electricity-generating station that used water power, called a hydroelectric station. This station, known as "Le Petit Pouvoir" (which means "The Little Power"), was located in the middle of the canal. It provided electricity for many things:
- It moved the gates of the locks, making them open and close automatically.
- It operated the special bridges that could swing open to let boats pass.
- It even lit up the entire canal at night!
This made the Soulanges Canal the first canal in the world to be fully lit at night, allowing boats to travel 24 hours a day. The canal opened in 1899 and was used until 1958. After that, a bigger Beauharnois Canal took its place, which is now part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, a huge system of canals and channels that allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean deep into North America.
Life After the Canal
Even though the Soulanges Canal is no longer used for shipping, it's still a popular spot today! A fun cycling path now follows the old route of the canal, where people can ride bikes and enjoy the scenery. There have been ideas in the past to open the canal again for smaller pleasure boats, but these plans haven't happened yet.
