"trainfinder22" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >in the USA 95% of our waterways that have locks on them are canalized >rivers......even the Erie Canal was rerouted in 1912..to use the >Mohawk and Upper Hudson Rivers........So what % of british canals use >existing rivers?
Not a possible question, I'm afraid. Almost all early inland navigations were natural (lakes, unimproved rivers). Later, many rivers were "improved", by such means as weirs, artificial cuts, various types of locks and gates, etc.. Eventually, there were many lateral canals and watershed canals, but these often include(d) lengths that were in river bed. It even now can be hard to tell whether (part of) a navigation is (rightly called) river or canal. For example, the Grand Union mainline going north from London towards Tring, which is generally thought of as a canal, includes pounds with rivers running into and out of them and are clearly riverish. OTH, a substantial portion of the Lee (which is generally thought of as a river navigation) is artificial cut. Some people at Hertford (the head of navigation) refer to the top pound as a canal, although it clearly isn't but does include a lock cut which follows a former (articial cut) mill stream. Also, many navigations "use existing rivers" for water supply. Adrian Adrian Stott 07956-299966
