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Coteau-du-Lac in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Québec — Central Canada (French-Canadian)
 

What is a lock canal?

Qu’est-ce qu’un canal à écluses?

 
 
What is a lock canal? Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 6, 2014
1. What is a lock canal? Marker
Inscription. English:
A canal is an artificial waterway designed to improve navigation on a river or other watercourse.

A lock is a water-filled chamber with gates and sluices which allows vessels to travel between bodies of water that are located at different levels.

When a vessel passes through a lock canal, it’s almost as though it were going up or down stairs.

Originally, the canal at Coteau-du-Lac had three locks. However, only two locks remained after major repair work was done in the early 19th century.

This lock canal made it possible to overcome a drop of approximately 2 m in the water level of the St. Lawrence.

The passage of a vessel through the Coteau-du-Lac canal as it travelled up the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes involved three main steps:

1. The gates (B) between the two locks were closed. The vessel then entered the lower lock.

2. The gates (A and C) at each end of the two locks were closed. The sluices of the central gate (B) were then opened and the water from the upper lock flowed into the lower one until it reached the same level in the two locks. The central gates (B) were then opened an the vessel moved into the upper lock.

3. The central gates (B) were closed. The sluices of the gates (C) at the far end of the upper lock were then
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opened. The water in the lock reached the same level as that at the upper entrance to the canal. The gates (C) were then opened and the vessel could sail back into the river.

French:
Un canal est une voie navigable artificielle qui améliore les conditions de navigation d’un cours d’eau.

Une écluse est un bassin d’eau muni de portes et de vannes qui permet aux bateau d’accéder à des plans d’eau dont les niveaux sont différents. En fait, écluser un bateau, c’est un peu comme lui faire monter ou descendre un escalier…!

A l’origine, le canal de Coteau-du-lac comprenait trois écluses. Suite à des refections majeures survenues au debut du XIXᵉ siècle, ce nombre fut réduit à deux. Les écluses de ce canal permettaient de combler une dénivellation d’environ 2 m sur le fleuve.

L’éclusage d’un bateau qui empruntait le canal de Coteau-du-lac pour remonter le fleuve Saint-Laurent en direction des Grands Lacs, se déroulait principalement en trois étapes.

1. Les portes (B) qui séparent les deux écluses sont fermées. Le bateau entre dans l’écluse d’aval.

2. On ferme les ports (A et C) des extrémités de chacune des deux écluses. Ensuite on ouvre les vannes des portes centrales (B). L’eau de l’écluse d’aval jusqu’à l’équilibre des niveaux d’eau. On ouvre les portes centrales (B) et le bateau passe dans l’écluse d’amont.
What is a lock canal? Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 6, 2014
2. What is a lock canal? Marker
This marker is the third marker from the right.


3. On referme les portes (B) centrales. On ouvre les vannes des portes (C) de l’extrémité de l’écluse et de l’entrée d’amont s’égalisent. On ouvre les portes (C) et le bateau peut regagner le fleuve.
 
Erected by Parks Canada / Parcs Canada.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and CastlesWar of 1812Waterways & Vessels.
 
Location. 45° 17.255′ N, 74° 10.555′ W. Marker is in Coteau-du-Lac, Québec, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Marker can be reached from Chemin du Fleuve close to Rue du Fort, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 307 Chemin du Fleuve, Coteau-du-Lac QC J0P 1B0, Canada. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A canal that must be preserved (a few steps from this marker); Adapting the canal to new needs (a few steps from this marker); A canal excavated in the rock (a few steps from this marker); A supply centre / Un poste de ravitaillement (a few steps from this marker); North blockhouse / Le blockhaus nord (a few steps from this marker); A very busy canal (a few steps from this marker); Destination: Great Lakes / Destination: Les Grands Lacs
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(within shouting distance of this marker); The construction of the canal (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Coteau-du-Lac.
 
More about this marker. This marker is located at Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 338 times since then and 2 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on May 29, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024