Somme Canal

Canal de la Somme
The entrance of the Canal de la Somme from the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
Specifications
Length	156.5 km (97.2 mi)
Locks	25
Total rise	66 m (217 ft)
History
Construction began	1770
Date completed	1843
Geography
Start point	English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
End point	Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon

The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Until 2005, it joined the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon. The Somme River was canalized beginning in 1770. The 54 km section from St. Simon to Bray was completed by 1772, but the rest was not finished until 1843.

The length and number of locks varies by who is describing the canal:

Some of this difference of opinion is certainly caused by the fact that the canal is made of two segments, the Grande Somme and the Petite Somme. These two segments are separated by a 20 km section of the Canal du Nord with two locks. The Grande Somme is 120 km with 19 locks from English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Canal du Nord at Péronne. The Petite Somme from the Canal du Nord at Voyennes to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at St. Simon was closed to traffic in 2005.

In the 1960s, more than 300,000 tonnes of goods were transported on the canal. Today it is used largely by pleasure boats.