Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway. The canal was opened in 1832. The 202 kilometers of the Rideau Canal incorporate sections of the Rideau and Cataraqui rivers, as well as several lakes. About 19 kilometers of the route is man-made. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and in 2007, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The construction of the Rideau Canal was proposed shortly after the War of 1812, when there remained a persistent threat of attack by the United State on the British colony of Upper Canada. In this period, the British built a number of other canals as well as a number of forts to impede and deter any future American invasions of Canadian territory. As many as a thousand of the workers died from malaria, other diseases and accidents during blasting.