The Rideau Canal's Slackwater Secret

The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre waterway linking the Ottawa River at Ottawa with Lake Ontario at Kingston.

British planners built the route to move military vessels safely between Montreal and Kingston. A very thorough deterrent.

The Rideau Canal became a National Historic Site.

Colonel John By used dams to raise water levels and drown rapids. Only 19 kilometres of the route is artificial.

Construction cost £822,804 when land acquisition was included in January 1834. An expensive way to get fired.

Freight traffic shifted to railways after the Prescott and Bytown Railway opened in December 1854. Parks Canada operates it today.

46 locks raise boats 83 metres upstream. Then they drop 50 metres downstream along the Cataraqui River.

In 2007 UNESCO inscribed the Rideau Canal as a World Heritage Site. It's the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.