Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi
The Orb Aqueduct, which allows the Canal du Midi to cross the river Orb in Béziers
Specifications
Length	240 km (150 mi)[1]
Maximum boat length	30 m (98 ft)
Maximum boat beam	5.50 m (18.0 ft)
Locks	65 (originally 86)
Maximum height above sea level	189 m (620 ft)
Minimum height above sea level	0 m (0 ft)
Navigation authority	VNF
History
Former names	Canal royal en Languedoc
Modern name	Canal du Midi
Current owner	State of France
Original owner	Pierre-Paul Riquet
Principal engineer	Pierre-Paul Riquet
Other engineer(s)	Marshal Sebastien Vauban, Louis Nicolas de Clerville, François Andréossy
Date approved	1666
Construction began	1667
Date of first use	May 20, 1681; 343 years ago (1681-05-20)
Date completed	15 May 1681
Geography
Start point	Toulouse
End point	Étang de Thau
Beginning coordinates	43°36′40″N 1°25′06″E / 43.61102°N 1.41844°E / 43.61102; 1.41844
Ending coordinates	43°20′24″N 3°32′23″E / 43.34003°N 3.53978°E / 43.34003; 3.53978 Les Onglous Lighthouse
Branch of	Canal des Deux Mers
Connects to	Garonne Lateral Canal, La Nouvelle branch, Canal de Brienne, Hérault, and Étang de Thau
Summit:	Seuil de Naurouze
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iv, vi
Reference	770
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)

The Canal du Midi (French pronunciation: [kanal dy midi]; Occitan: Canal del Miègjorn [ka'nal del mjɛdˈd͡ʒuɾ]) is a 240 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France (French: le Midi). Originally named the Canal Royal en Languedoc (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to Canal du Midi in 1789, the canal is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century.^[2]

The canal connects the Garonne to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and, along with the 193 km (120 mi) long Canal de Garonne, forms the Canal des Deux Mers, joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

Strictly speaking, "Canal du Midi" refers to the portion initially constructed from Toulouse to the Mediterranean – the Deux-Mers canal project aimed to link together several sections of navigable waterways to join the Mediterranean and the Atlantic: first the Canal du Midi, then the Garonne which was more or less navigable between Toulouse and Bordeaux, then the Garonne Lateral Canal built later, and finally the Gironde estuary after Bordeaux.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert authorized the start of work by royal edict in October, 1666, with the aim of developing the wheat trade, under the supervision of Pierre-Paul Riquet, and construction lasted from 1666 to 1681, during the reign of Louis XIV. The Canal du Midi is one of the oldest canals of Europe still in operation (the prototype being the Briare Canal). The challenges in these works are closely related to the challenges of inland water transport today. The key challenge, raised by Pierre-Paul Riquet, was to convey water from the Montagne Noire (Black Mountains) to the Seuil de Naurouze, the highest point of the canal.

The Canal du Midi was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, because of its outstanding engineering and artistic design, and it was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2016.^[3][4]