MIDI CANAL

also called Languedoc Canal, French Canal Du Midi, or Canal Du Languedoc, major link in the inland waterway system from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean. A landmark engineering work carried out in France in the 17th century, the Midi Canal connects Toulouse with the Mediterranean and provides a waterway to the Atlantic via the Aude and the Garonne. Rising 206 feet (63 m), via 26 locks, in its 32-mile (51.5-kilometre) journey to the summit of its route, it runs 3 miles (5 km) along the summit, then descends 114 miles (183.5 km) with a difference in elevation of 620 feet (189 m) taken up by 74 locks. The engineer, Pierre-Paul Riquet, overcame a rocky rise near Bziers by a daring innovation, employing black powder to blast a 515-foot (157-metre) tunnel, 22 feet (6.7 m) wide and 27 feet (8 m) high, the first canal tunnel ever so built, and the first use of explosives in underground construction. The canal was built between 1665 and 1681, with its final completion in 1692.