Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: What is the longest canal in the world?
The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal (Jīng-Háng Dà Yùnhé), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest as well as the oldest canal or artificial river in the world.[1] Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, but the various sections were first connected during the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). Dynasties in 1271-1633 significantly rebuilt the canal and altered its route to supply their capital Beijing.
The longest canal pound in the United Kingdom is between the stop lock on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Preston Brook (Dutton Stop Lock No 76) and the start of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Leigh (Poolstock Bottom Lock No 2), a distance of . Another long pound is on the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Rivers Bottom Lock and Caen Hill top lock. The longest level on the Erie Canal in New York was the 60 mile level (actually 64.2 miles) between Henrietta and Lockport.
Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjord in North America (outside Greenland) and one of the deepest and longest in the world as well.
Hood Canal is spanned by the Hood Canal Bridge, the third longest floating bridge in the world at . According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Hood Canal Bridge is the only floating bridge constructed on saltwater, although there are others, such as Nordhordland Bridge and Bergsøysund Bridge. The Hood Canal Bridge accommodates sixteen and a half foot tides.
In ancient China, large canals for river transport were established as far back as the Spring and Autumn Period (8th–5th centuries BC), the longest one of that period being the Hong Gou (Canal of the Wild Geese), which according to the ancient historian Sima Qian connected the old states of Song, Zhang, Chen, Cai, Cao, and Wei. The Caoyun System of canals was essential for imperial taxation, which was largely assessed in kind and involved enormous shipments of rice and other grains. By far the longest canal was the Grand Canal of China, still the longest canal in the world today and the oldest extant one. It is long and was built to carry the Emperor Yang Guang between Zhuodu (Beijing) and Yuhang (Hangzhou). The project began in 605 and was completed in 609, although much of the work combined older canals, the oldest section of the canal existing since at least 486 BC. Even in its narrowest urban sections it is rarely less than wide.
In winter, a section of the Rideau Canal passing through central Ottawa becomes officially the world's largest and second longest skating rink. The cleared length is and has the equivalent surface area of 90 Olympic ice hockey rinks. It runs from the Hartwell locks at Carleton University to the locks between the Parliament Buildings and the Château Laurier, including Dow's Lake in between. It serves as a popular tourist attraction and recreational area and is also the focus of the Winterlude festival in Ottawa. Beaver Tails, a fried dough pastry, are sold along with other snacks and beverages, in kiosks on the skateway. In January 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba, achieved the record of the world's longest skating rink at a length of 8.54 kilometres but with a width of only 2 to 3 metres wide on its Assiniboine River and Red River at The Forks. In response, the Rideau Canal was rebranded as "the world's largest skating rink". The Rideau Canal Skateway was added to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2005 for being the largest naturally frozen ice rink in the world.
The Rove Tunnel, the world's longest canal tunnel, is situated near the commune.
A canal tunnel is a tunnel for a (shipping) canal. The longest canal tunnel in the world is the Rove Tunnel in France, currently disused. The proposed Stad Ship Tunnel in Norway, while shorter, will be significantly wider and deeper, as it is designed to accommodate seagoing vessels.
The Erie Canal is a canal in New York, United States that is part of the east–west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). Originally, it ran 363 miles (584km) from where Albany meets the Hudson River to where Buffalo meets Lake Erie. It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. When completed in 1825, it was the second longest canal in the world (after the Grand Canal in China) and greatly affected the development and economy of New York, New York City, and the United States.[2]
At the time of its completion, it was the longest vertical lift span in the world. It is now the second longest lift bridge in the United States, the longest being the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge between New Jersey and Staten Island, New York.
The Sapperton Canal Tunnel is a tunnel on the Thames and Severn Canal near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England. With a length of 3,817 yards it was the longest canal tunnel, and the longest tunnel of any kind, in England from 1789 to 1811.
In ancient China, large canals for river transport were established as far back as the Warring States (481-221 BCE). By far the longest canal was the Grand Canal of China completed in 609 CE, still the longest canal in the world today at .
Port Salford is based on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, the only ship canal in the United Kingdom and the eighth longest in the world. The canal connects Manchester, a national city of cultural and economic significance, to the Irish Sea. The ship canal was completed in 1894 and designed to give Manchester and Salford unhindered access to the sea. At its peak in the 1960s, Manchester docks were the third busiest in the United Kingdom.
The northern end is about from the northern end of the Grand Junction Canal at Braunston, Northamptonshire and the southern end about .
At 3,076 yards (2,813m) long it is the third-longest navigable canal tunnel on the UK canal network after Standedge Tunnel and Dudley Tunnel (and the ninth-longest canal tunnel in the world). At its deepest point it is "ca."143 feet ("ca."43m) below ground level.
It is a freestone masonry segmental arch of span and a height over the water of about . The bridge is probably the longest span masonry aqueduct of the canal age on a British canal, and one of the world's earliest bridges carrying a public railway. It was widened to carry the double track railway, and the line crosses the bridge at a slight skew because of the easing of the sharp canal curvature.
The Grand Union Canal in its current form came into being on 1 January 1929, and was further extended in 1932. It was formed from the amalgamation of several different canals, and at ( when excluding the shared line with the Oxford Canal), is by far the longest "merged" canal in the UK, whilst the Leeds & Liverpool Canal for being and having parts of the now-extinct southern end of the Lancaster Canal, is considered the longest "single" Canal in the UK:A 5-mile (8-km) section of the Oxford Canal forms the main line of the Grand Union between Braunston and Napton. Although the Grand Union intended to buy the Oxford Canal and Coventry Canal, this did not take place.
The Blackhall Bridge in Paisley was built in the period 1808 - 1810 as an aqueduct for the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal. It was converted for railway use in 1885, and currently carries the Paisley Canal branch railway. The bridge is probably the longest span masonry aqueduct of the canal age on a British canal, and one of the world's earliest bridges carrying a public railway.
The honour for the first summit-level canal therefore goes to the Grand Canal of China. This was started in the 4th century BCE with major extensions in 329 CE, and used single locks until the 10th century when pound locks were introduced. But it was the rerouting of the canal in the 1280s to shorten the connection to the new capital Beijing at the start of the Yuan dynasty, crossing the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, that established it as a summit-level canal. It remained into the modern era as the longest canal in the world at .
The Higham and Strood tunnel is long, and was the second longest canal tunnel built in the UK (the longest is the Standedge Canal Tunnel). It was also the largest: 10.7 m (35 ft) high from arch to canal bed, 6.6 m (21.5 ft) wide at the water line, a further 1.5 m (5 ft) wide at towpath level, and had water 2.4 m (8 ft) deep. These dimensions could accommodate a 60 tonne sailing barge with its mast lowered.
The Briare Aqueduct carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire on its journey to the River Seine in France. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the Briare Canal that was hazardous in times of flood. Between 1896 and 2003 it was the longest navigable aqueduct in the World until the opening of the Magdeburg Water Bridge.
In January 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized The Forks as the home of the longest skating rink in the world. The 8.54-kilometre-long Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail on the Assiniboine River and the Red River is almost 1 kilometer longer than the previous record-holding rink. The 7.8-kilometre long rink on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario had lost its World Record title which it had held since 1971. Then in 2008 the rivers beat their own record which made the longest rink go to about 9.3-kilometres. The Rideau Canal still held the record for the "world's largest naturally frozen ice rink" by the Guinness Book of World Records because "its entire length receives daily maintenance such as sweeping, ice thickness checks and there are toilet and recreational facilities along its entire length". In 2013 the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail lost its record to the Lake Windermere Whiteway at Invermere, British Columbia, Canada.
The ship canal took six years to complete at a cost of just over £15 million, equivalent to about £1.65 billion in 2011. It is still the longest river navigation canal and remains the world's eighth-longest ship canal, only slightly shorter than the Panama Canal in Central America. More than 54 million cubic yards (41,000,000 m³) of material were excavated, about half as much as was removed during the building of the Suez Canal. An average of 12,000 workers were employed during construction, peaking at 17,000. Regular navvies were paid d per hour for a 10-hour working day, equivalent to about £16 per day in 2010. In terms of machinery, the project made use of more than of temporary rail track, 180 locomotives, more than 6000 trucks and wagons, 124 steam-powered cranes, 192 other steam engines, and 97 steam excavators. Major engineering landmarks of the scheme included the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the first swing aqueduct in the world, and a neighbouring swing bridge for road traffic at Barton, both of which are now Grade II* listed structures. In 1909 the canal's depth was increased by to , equalling that of the Suez Canal.
Elias Horry had become president of the company in 1831, and was responsible for building what was then the longest railway in the world.
The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal of Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At in length (floating portion ), it is the longest floating bridge in the world located in a saltwater tidal basin, and the third longest floating bridge overall. First opened in 1961, it was the second concrete floating bridge constructed in Washington. Since that time, it has become a vital link for local residents, freight haulers, commuters, and recreational travelers. The convenience it provides has had a major impact on economic development, especially in eastern Jefferson County.
In 2007, the Society made a journey along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the World Canals Conference in Liverpool. The society was awarded a grant of £42,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for this journey and other activities in support of the World Canals Conference. This journey was also part of British Waterways' "Coal and Cotton" event, celebrating the Leeds and Liverpool Canal's history of transporting coal from Leeds and Wigan to Liverpool, and taking cotton from Liverpool docks to Leeds. "Maria" duly carried sacks of coal, and samples of cotton supplied by the Merseyside Maritime Museum.
In May 2008, NB "Maria" was horse-drawn again, this time on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. She had been "legged" through the Standedge Tunnel in 2006, the first boat to have been legged through in 60 years at that time. This time, a UK Government minister and a local Member of Parliament took turns at legging Maria through the highest, longest, and deepest canal tunnel in the UK.