The Canal de la Somme () 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.
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.
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: and 1 lock from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Abbeville (the Canal maritime) and 18 locks from Abbeville to Péronne with 2 locks the section upgraded as part of the Canal du Nord and 4 locks from Voyennes to Saint-Simon, closed upstream from Offoy since 2004.Fluviacarte, Canal de la Somme (amont)
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.
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
References
External links Canal de la Somme information on places, ports and moorings on the canal, by the author of Inland Waterways of France, Imray Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals (French waterways website section)