Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal
| Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal Canal de Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue |
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The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal and boardwalk
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| Location | Quebec, Canada |
| Nearest city | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue |
| Coordinates | 45°24′13″N 73°57′16″W / 45.40361°N 73.95444°WCoordinates: 45°24′13″N 73°57′16″W / 45.40361°N 73.95444°W |
| Area | 1.6 hectares (4.0 acres) |
| Established | 1972 |
| Built | 1843 |
| Visitors | 181,000 (in 2003) |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Website | Official website |
The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal is a canal and set of locks linking Lake Saint-Louis and Lake of Two Mountains at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the very westernmost point of Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada. It is a National Historic Site of Canada.
The canal is located in the eastern channel of the Ottawa River around Perrot Island (Île Perrot) where shallow rapids form a natural obstacle. It forms part of the waterway system that allows boating access from the Saint Lawrence River up the Ottawa River to the City of Ottawa, and even to Kingston via the Rideau Canal.
The canal and locks are used today exclusively for recreational boating. The site is a popular tourist location that also offers mooring places, picnic tables, boat launch, and park land. Guided tours and interpretative panels are provided by Parks Canada. Together with the boardwalk and restaurants and cafes that line the canal, the site drew 181,000 visitors and 23,000 boaters in 2003, making it the second busiest canal and locks in Quebec. The dimensions of the lock are 54.86 meters (180.0 ft) long, 12.19 meters (40.0 ft) wide, and 2.74 meters (9.0 ft) deep at the sills. It lifts boats by 1 meter (3.3 ft).
Prior to the existence of the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal, there had already been since 1816 a canal and lock in the channel on the west side of Perrot Island, facing Dorion. But this canal was privately owned, with its owners therefore having a monopoly over the shipping going upstream. Other merchants, opposing the unfair practice, petitioned the government to build a public lock at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
The first plans for the canal were drawn up in 1831. But because of financial, administrative, and political setbacks, it would not be until 1840 that construction began on the canal. It was completed on November 14, 1843. The original locks were 58 meters (190 ft) long, 14 meters (46 ft) wide, and 2 meters (6.6 ft) deep at the sills.
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Wikipedia