Somme Canal

The Canal de la Somme (French pronunciation: [kanal də la sɔm]) is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon.

Canal de la Somme
The entrance of the Canal de la Somme from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme
Specifications
Length	156.4 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
Connects to	Canal de Saint-Quentin but disused Canal du Nord

Location of Canal de la Somme, showing the upstream section disused; middle section shared with Canal du Nord

History

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.^[1]

Overview

The canal as originally built has seen substantial modifications since construction of the Canal du Nord in 1904–1965, and is now made up of four distinct sections:

• 14.2 km (8.8 mi) and 1 lock from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Abbeville (the Canal maritime)^[2]
• 105.3 km (65.4 mi) and 18 locks from Abbeville to Péronne^[1]
• 20.3 km (12.6 mi) with 2 locks the section upgraded as part of the Canal du Nord
• 16.4 km (10.2 mi) and 4 locks from Voyennes to Saint-Simon, closed upstream from Offoy since 2004.^[3]

Some authors distinguish the Grande Somme downstream from Péronne and the Petite Somme upstream from Voyennes. Since 2005 the latter section has been closed to navigation as a result of silt deposits.^[1]

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

En Route

• PK 156 Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme
• PK 141 Abbeville
• PK 92 Amiens
• PK 34 Péronne
• PK 16 Voyennes
• PK 0 Saint-Simon

See also

• List of canals in France