What is Canal du Midi?
[[File:Canal_du_Midi_location.jpg|thumb]] The '''Canal du Midi''' is one of the oldest [[Canal|canals]] of Europe still open. It is 240 km (150 miles) long, going from [[Toulouse]], where it meets the Canal de [[Garonne]], to the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] where it joins the [[Étang de Thau]], a large lake. It was built from 1666 to 1681, during the reign of [[Louis XIV]]. It joins the Mediterranean and the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] ocean. Many earlier plans had been made, but were not built because of the difficulty of getting water to supply the highest level. A [[reservoir]] was built with a large [[dam]] at Bassin de Saint-Ferréol. The dam is 780 metres (2,560 feet) long, with a maximum height of 32 metres (105 ft), and a base thickness of more than 140 m (450 ft). It was the largest work of [[civil engineering]] in Europe and only the second major dam to be built in Europe. Nearly 12,000 people worked to build it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Canal du Midi|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/770|access-date=18 April 2023|website=UNESCO}}</ref> It was built with [[oval]] shaped [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] 30.5 m (100 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide at the gates and 11 m (36 ft) wide in the middle. There are six [[aqueduct]]<nowiki/>s. There was a flight of 8 [[staircase locks]] (now only 6) at Fonseranes near [[Béziers]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le site pratique du Canal du Midi et Canal Latéral à la Garonne - Canal des Deux Mers|url=https://www.canal-du-midi.org/en/|access-date=2023-04-18|website=www.canal-du-midi.org|archive-date=2023-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418210605/https://www.canal-du-midi.org/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Canals in France]]