Nearly all the thickly settled parts of Europe are now covered with a network of artificial waterways, which are of great importance in cheapening freight rates. The canals of Holland, built primarily to pro vide channels for the water drained from the low-lying land, are also valuable for transportation. All the larger river systems of North Germany and of Russia are connected. The Russians have been active in Asia, too, making it possible for boats to pass all the way from the Ural Mountains to Lake Baikal in the heart of the continent.
In the earliest times boats were propelled through canals by man-power; then horses and mules were used on a towpath along the bank. Driving mules along a towpath, it will be remembered, was a boyhood occupation of one of the American presidents—James A. Garfield. Today boats move either by their own power, are drawn by small steam tugs, or are hauled in the old-fashioned way by mules or horses.
another. It consists of an artificial basin with a pair of gates at each end. In going upstream the upper pair of gates remains closed and the boat pro ceeds into the lock. The downstream gates are then closed, and water is admitted so as to raise the boat to the upper level. The process is reversed when the boat is going downstream.
Canals can be broadly classified as inland or barge canals and oceanic or ship canals. The Suez and Panama canals are examples of the latter type (see Suez Canal; Panama Canal). They generally provide a short route between oceans and seas, in place of long and hazardous routes which boats formerly had to take. Included in this group, are the Corinth Canal, connecting the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece; and the Kiel Canal (60 miles long) between the Baltic and North seas. Built by Germany for aggressive military purposes as well as commerce, and now internationalized, the Kiel Canal enables even the largest vessels to escape the great detour around the peninsula of Denmark.
George Washington might be called the father of canal construction in the United States, for he was the first conspicuous advocate of canals to connect the water systems of this country. He was especially interested in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, extend ing from Washington, D.C., 185 miles to Cumberland, Md. Completed in 1850 at a cost of more than
$11,250,000, it is one of the oldest in the United States. By means of about 75 small locks it gains a total elevation of more than 600 feet, the water being supplied by the Potomac River.
In the first half of the 19th century a very extended system of state-aided " internal improvements," in cluding canals, was proposed; but of the 5,000 miles of canals planned, less than 3,000 miles were constructed, and many of these have since been abandoned. The competition of the steam railway, following 1850, caused the decline in canal building; but in recent years there has been renewed interest in water transportation.
The Cape Cod Canal was built in 1904-14 across the narrow strip where Cape Cod joins the mainland of Massachusetts. Leading directly from Massa chusetts Bay into Buzzards Bay, this canal saves 66 miles in the trip from Boston to New York, besides making it possible to avoid the treacherous shoals of Nantucket. The " Soo" canals at Sault Sainte Marie, which make navigation possible between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, form a link in the Great Lakes system and are of vast commercial importance (see Sault Sainte Marie).
The World War stimulated interest in inland canals owing to the inability of the railroads to carry the enormous burdens placed upon them. The New York State barge canal proved particularly useful. This system, which comprises the old Erie and three other canals formerly operated individually, was recon structed by New York State in 1903-17 (see Great Lakes; New York). The principal section is the Erie Canal, extending from Buffalo 383 miles eastward to Troy and Albany, and connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River. Completed in 1825 at a cost of $7,602,000, the Erie Canal has the longest record of continuous operation. Its completion marked a new era in the commercial expansion, not only of New York, but of the country. The industrial and financial supremacy of New York was largely based on the successful operation of this canal. It has been en larged and improved to meet increasing traffic. The old machinery has been replaced by most modern devices. Where the old canal laboriously climbed a steep hill at Lockport in a flight of five small locks, the new canal "takes" the hill in two steps.