The Canal de la Meuse is the current name of what used to be the northern branch of the Canal de l'Est ("canal of the east"). It is a canal in northeastern France, predominantly made up of the canalised river Meuse. The Canal de l'Est was built from 1874 to 1887 to provide a waterway inside the new border with Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War, Overall, the canal had a total length of 394 kilometres (245 mi). In 2003, the northern and southern branches were officially renamed Canal de la Meuse and Canal des Vosges respectively.[1]

Canal de l'Est in the waterway network in eastern France.

Canal de la Meuse (formerly Canal de l'Est, northern branch)

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Canal de la Meuse at Mouzon

The Canal de la Meuse starts at Givet in the Ardennes département. It follows the Meuse upstream, passing through Mouzon, Fumay, Revin, Nouzonville, Charleville-Mézières, Sedan, Stenay, Verdun, Saint-Mihiel and Commercy, and joins the Canal de la Marne au Rhin at Troussey. This canal is 272 kilometres (169 mi) long. For most of its length, the canal is the canalised river Meuse.[2]

Canal des Vosges (formerly southern branch)

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Canal des Vosges at Golbey

Originally, the southern branch of the Canal de l'Est started at Toul, where it branched off the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Since the Moselle has been made navigable for high-capacity barges up to Neuves-Maisons, the 27-kilometre (17 mi) part of the Canal de l'Est between Toul and Neuves-Maisons is considered part of the Moselle. The canal follows the Moselle upstream through Charmes and Thaon-les-Vosges until Golbey, north of Épinal, where it leaves the Moselle valley. It passes through Les Forges and enters the valley of the Côney near Uzemain. It follows the Côney downstream until its confluence with the Saône at Corre in the Haute-Saône department, the southern end of the Canal de l'Est. This branch of the canal is 123 kilometres (76 mi) long.[2]

Geographic latitude and longitude

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branch commune latitude and longitude
northern Givet 50°09′55″N 4°49′23″E / 50.165339°N 4.823090°E / 50.165339; 4.823090 (Givet)
northern Fumay 49°59′42″N 4°42′17″E / 49.995027°N 4.704711°E / 49.995027; 4.704711 (Fumay)
northern Revin 49°56′26″N 4°38′19″E / 49.940532°N 4.638501°E / 49.940532; 4.638501 (Revin)
northern Nouzonville 49°49′00″N 4°44′28″E / 49.816795°N 4.741077°E / 49.816795; 4.741077 (Nouzonville)
northern Charleville-Mézières 49°45′35″N 4°43′28″E / 49.759734°N 4.724509°E / 49.759734; 4.724509 (Charleville-Mézières)
northern Sedan 49°42′06″N 4°56′09″E / 49.701676°N 4.935798°E / 49.701676; 4.935798 (Sedan)
northern Mouzon 49°36′34″N 5°04′20″E / 49.609429°N 5.072111°E / 49.609429; 5.072111 (Mouzon)
northern Stenay 49°29′22″N 5°10′56″E / 49.489465°N 5.182199°E / 49.489465; 5.182199 (Stenay)
northern Verdun 49°09′11″N 5°23′01″E / 49.153179°N 5.383668°E / 49.153179; 5.383668 (Verdun)
northern Saint-Mihiel 48°53′19″N 5°32′11″E / 48.888597°N 5.536481°E / 48.888597; 5.536481 (Saint-Mihiel)
northern Commercy 48°45′57″N 5°35′42″E / 48.765725°N 5.595111°E / 48.765725; 5.595111 (Commercy)
northern Troussey 48°42′52″N 5°41′24″E / 48.714535°N 5.690091°E / 48.714535; 5.690091 (Troussey)
southern Toul 48°40′59″N 5°54′23″E / 48.683183°N 5.906358°E / 48.683183; 5.906358 (Toul)
southern Neuves-Maisons 48°36′25″N 6°06′30″E / 48.606976°N 6.108320°E / 48.606976; 6.108320 (Neuves-Maisons)
southern Charmes 48°22′27″N 6°17′43″E / 48.374052°N 6.295253°E / 48.374052; 6.295253 (Charmes)
southern Thaon-les-Vosges 48°14′50″N 6°25′32″E / 48.247316°N 6.425521°E / 48.247316; 6.425521 (Thaon-les-Vosges)
southern Golbey 48°12′33″N 6°26′23″E / 48.209058°N 6.439801°E / 48.209058; 6.439801 (Golbey)
southern Les Forges 48°10′54″N 6°23′24″E / 48.181601°N 6.390107°E / 48.181601; 6.390107 (Les Forges)
southern Uzemain 48°06′25″N 6°18′57″E / 48.106896°N 6.315748°E / 48.106896; 6.315748 (Uzemain)
southern Corre 47°54′41″N 5°59′41″E / 47.911417°N 5.994600°E / 47.911417; 5.994600 (Corre)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Canal de l'Est in Dictionnaire des rivières et canaux de France
  2. ^ a b Edwards-May, David (2010). Inland Waterways of France. St Ives, Cambs., UK: Imray. pp. 90–94. ISBN 978-1-846230-14-1.
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