Vodootvodny Canal
Coordinates: 55°44′42″N 37°37′13″E / 55.74500°N 37.62028°E
Vodootvodny Canal (Russian: Водоотводный канал, "water bypass canal") is a 4 kilometre long, 30-60 metre wide canal in downtown Moscow, Russia. It was built in the 1780s on the old riverbed of the Moskva River to control floods and support shipping. Canal construction created an island, Balchug, between the Moskva River and the canal. The island acquired its present shape in 1938 with the completion of Moscow Canal megaproject. The canal is spanned by ten bridges; the eleventh is now under construction.
Zamoskvorechye, the land on the flat southern bank of Moskva river, was frequently flooded in spring. The river itself used to migrate south from its present site and back, discouraging construction. Low lands on both sides of the river were only suitable for farming. In dry periods, the old river bed used to shrink into isolated muddy swamps, spreading disease. Residents had to combat inundation levels by digging small moats and dikes, with little result. The memory of these moats (ровушки, ендовы; rovyshki, yendovy) remains in the names of Raushskaya embankment and Church of St. George v Yendove (literally, in the pot). The most notable, permanent moat was that separating St. George from Balchug Street.
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