Grand Canal d'Alsace
Encyclopedia
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
is a canal in eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, channeling the Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
river. It is 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) long between Kembs
Kembs
Kembs is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
and Vogelgrun
Vogelgrun
Vogelgrun is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, and provides access to the region from the Rhine River, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
for barges of up to 1,350 metric tons. The Grand Canal is larger than the Suez Canel and permits the navigation of more than 30,000 boats a year between Basel and Strasbourg.
Construction of the canal began in 1932 and was completed after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1959. The canal diverts much of the water from the original bed of the fast-flowing Rhine in this area, which is almost entirely unnavigable by boats.
The Grand Canal produces hydroelectric power at Kembs
Kembs
Kembs is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, Ottmarsheim
Ottmarsheim
Ottmarsheim is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, Fessenheim
Fessenheim
Fessenheim is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is known for:* its hydroelectric power plant on the Grand Canal d'Alsace ;...
and Vogelgrun, supplying electricity to one of the most heavily industrialized regions in France and even to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Furthermore, the canal provides enough water throughout the year to a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
at Fessenheim, eliminating the need for cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
s.
See also
- Fessenheim Nuclear Power PlantFessenheim Nuclear Power PlantThe Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Fessenheim commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France, north east of the Mulhouse urban area, within of the border with Germany, and approximately from Switzerland...
- built alongside the canal