Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal in Scotland connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William.
It runs some 100 kilometres (62 miles) in an North-east to South-west direction. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour , Loch Ness, Loch Oich , and Loch Lochy. These lochs are part of the Great Glen, a geological fault in the Earth's crust. There are 29 locks (including eight at Neptune's Staircase ), four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal.
The canal was designed by engineer Thomas Telford and built between 1803 and 1822, but was never a great commercial success. Originally built too shallow and suffering 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) by which time most ships were too large, and Inverness was soon connected to the Lowlands by rail. The canal is now mainly used by pleasure craft. It is maintained and run by British Waterways, a governmental organisation.
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