Ognon Lock is a double chamber lock on the Canal du Midi in the Aude region of Languedoc, France. The adjacent locks are Pechlaurier Lock 2726 metres to the east and Homps Lock 689 metres to the west.
43°16′11″N2°44′19″E / 43.269768°N 2.738583°E
The Canal du Midi is a 240 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France. Originally named the Canal Royal en 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.
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lake Erie, and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, it runs from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim. The canal connects the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, providing a navigable artery between the Rhine delta, and the Danube Delta in south-eastern Romania and south-western Ukraine. The present canal was completed in 1992 and is 171 kilometres (106 mi) long.
The Pont Marengo crosses the Canal du Midi and links Carcassonne to the local railway station.
Fonseranes Locks are a flight of staircase locks on the Canal du Midi near Béziers.
The Canal de Garonne, formerly known as Canal latéral à la Garonne, is a French canal dating from the mid-19th century that connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the river Garonne. It is the continuation of the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean with Toulouse.
The Canal de Brienne, also known as Canal de Saint-Pierre, is a French canal connecting the Garonne River with the Canal du Midi and the Canal de Garonne. It has two locks. The lock opening to the Garonne is known as Ecluse Saint-Pierre. The lock nearer to the Canal du Midi usually stands open.
The Malpas tunnel carries the Canal du Midi under the d'Ensérune hill in Hérault, France. Excavated in 1679, it was Europe's first navigable canal tunnel and is a monument to the determination of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the chief engineer. It is located in the commune of Nissan-lez-Ensérune near to the archaeological site Oppidum d'Ensérune.
The Grand Bassin is the largest body of open water along the Canal du Midi. It is in Castelnaudary, France and covers some 7 hectares. Once a scene of intense economic activity, it is now a major pleasure port used by tourist craft. It holds the water reserve for the four locks of Saint-Roche.
There are 91 working locks on the Canal du Midi along its 240-kilometre (150 mi) course from the Bassin du Thau on the Mediterranean coast to the junction with the Canal lateral a la Garonne in Toulouse. There are a further 13 locks on the 37-kilometre (23 mi) La Nouvelle branch which runs through Narbonne to the Mediterranean at Port-la-Nouvelle. The locks are all under the management of the French navigation authority, Voies navigables de France.
Homps Lock is a single chamber lock on the Canal du Midi. It lies east of the small town of Homps in the Aude region of Languedoc, France. The adjacent locks are Ognon Lock 689 metres to the east and Jouarres Lock 3688 metres to the west.
Pechlaurier Lock is a double-chamber lock on the Canal du Midi in the Aude region of Languedoc, France. The adjacent locks are Argens Lock 2,485 metres (8,153 ft) to the east and Ognon Lock 2,726 metres (8,944 ft) to the west.
Argens Lock is a single chamber lock on the Canal du Midi. It lies east of the small town of Argens in the Aude region of Languedoc, France. The adjacent locks are Fonserannes Lock 53,868 metres to the east and Pechlaurier Lock 2485 metres to the west.
Océan Lock is a single chamber lock on the Canal du Midi. The adjacent locks are Mediterranee Lock 5190 metres to the east and Emborrel Lock 4157 metres to the west. Ocean Lock marks the start of the summit section of the canal when travelling west to east.
Négra Lock is a single chamber lock on the Canal du Midi near the village of Villefranche-de-Lauragais in Languedoc, France. There is a small chapel at the lock and also a small red-brick aqueduct which carries the canal over the Thésauque, a tributary of the Hers.
The Orb Aqueduct is a bridge which carries the Canal du Midi over the Orb in the city of Béziers in Languedoc, France. The aqueduct is 28 metres (92 ft) wide, 12 metres (39 ft) tall and at 240 metres (790 ft) is the longest on the Canal du Midi.
The Fonseranes Water Slope is a disused inclined plane on the Canal du Midi parallel to the Fonseranes Lock. It has a rise of 13.6 m (45 ft) and a slope of 5°.
The Agde Round Lock is a canal lock on the Canal du Midi that connects to the Hérault River in Agde France. It is almost unique because it is round, which allows a boat to turn around, and the fact that it has three sets of lock gates, each with a different water level. It was built in 1676 of volcanic stone and was originally 29.20 m in diameter, 5.20 m deep.
The Seuil de Naurouze, or Col de Naurouze, is the highest point of the Canal du Midi in southern France. It is the watershed point identified by Pierre-Paul Riquet when he designed and built the canal. Water falling on the western side of this point flows to the Atlantic Ocean and on the eastern side to the Mediterranean Sea. It is on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and the department of the Aude.
The balancing of incoming and outgoing water allows the Canal du Midi to operate as it does. Each time a lock operates, large quantities of water are either required to fill it or dump from it into the lower level pound. There must be a constant source of water in order to fill and the excess water dumped must have a place to exit the canal without it overflowing. Being able to provide this water source was one of the most important problems to be solved by Pierre Paul Riquet, its creator.