The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, western

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and the southwestern part of

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

("shallow"),

Modern English Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England England is a Count ...

''shoal'',

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

, West Frisian , and obsolete Swedish ("thin").

Course

The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

department of northern France. It flows north through

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

and

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, and enters Belgium near

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

developed at the confluence of the Lys, one of its main tributaries, and the Scheldt, which then turns east. Near

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, the largest city on its banks, the Scheldt flows west into the Netherlands toward the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Originally there were two branches from that point: the Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt); and the Westerschelde (Western Scheldt). In the 19th century, however, the Dutch built a dyke that cuts the river off from its eastern (northern) branch and connects Zuid-Beveland with the mainland (

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

). Today the river continues into the Westerschelde

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

only, passing

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

to reach the North Sea between Breskens in

Zeelandic Flanders Zeelandic Flanders ( ; ; )''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and th ...

and

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

(Flushing) on

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

. The Scheldt is an important

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

, and has been made navigable from its mouth up to Cambrai. Above Cambrai, the Canal de Saint-Quentin follows its course. The port of Antwerp, the second-largest in Europe, developed on its banks. Several

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s (including the Scheldt-Rhine Canal connecting

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, the Albert Canal connecting it to

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and the Brussel-Scheldt,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and Brussels-Charleroi canals connecting it to

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

via

) connect the Scheldt with the basins of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, and

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

rivers, and with the industrial areas around

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, and

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. The Scheldt flows through the following

departments of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...

provinces of Belgium The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three Communities, regions, and language areas of Belgium, regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any p ...

provinces of the Netherlands There are twelve provinces ( or ; Grammatical number#Overview, sing. ) of the Netherlands representing the administrative layer between the cabinet of the Netherlands, national government and the municipalities of the Netherlands, local ...

, and towns: *

(F): Gouy * Nord (F):

, Denain,

* Hainaut (B):

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

(B): Avelgem *

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

(B):

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; , ) is a city in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders in Belgium. The Municipalities of Belgium, municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, M ...

Temse Temse (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in East Flanders, Belgium. The name Temse is derived from the Gallo-Roman/Gaul Tamisiacum or Tamasiacum. This is also reflected in the French name for the town, Tamise. The main sights in ...

(B):

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

(NL):

Hulst Hulst () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders. History Hulst received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in the 12th century. Hulst Siege of Hulst ...

Sluis Sluis (; ; ) is a city and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January 2003. The former municipalities of Oostb ...

History

Truman Byrnes greeting HMS Hambledon 1945

The Scheldt estuary has always had considerable commercial and strategic importance. Called ''Scaldis'' in Roman times, it was important for the shipping lanes to

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

. Nehalennia was venerated at its mouth. The

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

took control over the region about the year 260 and at first interfered with the Roman supply routes as pirates. Later they became allies of the Romans. With the various divisions of the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

in the 9th century, the Scheldt eventually became the border between the Western and Eastern parts of the Empire, which later became France and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. This status quo remained intact, at least on paper, until 1528, but by then, both the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...

on the western bank and Zeeland and the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

on the east were part of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

possessions of the

Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the France, French Departments of Franc ...

. Antwerp was the most prominent harbour in Western Europe. After this city fell back under Spanish control in 1585, the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

took control of

, a strip of land on the left bank, and closed the Scheldt for shipping. That shifted the trade to the ports of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and Middelburg and seriously crippled Antwerp, an important and traumatic element in the history of relations between the Netherlands and what was to become Belgium. Access to the river was the subject of the brief Kettle War of 1784, and during the French Revolution shortly afterwards, the river was reopened in 1792. Once Belgium had claimed its

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from the Netherlands in 1830, the treaty of the Scheldt determined that the river should remain accessible to ships heading for Belgian

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s. Nevertheless, the Dutch government would demand a toll from passing vessels until 16 July 1863. ''The Question of the Scheldt'', a study providing "a history of the international legal arrangements governing the Western Scheldt", was prepared for the use of British negotiators at the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

in 1919. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Scheldt estuary once again became a contested area. Despite Allied control of

, German forces still occupied fortified positions in September 1944 throughout the Scheldt estuary west and north, preventing any Allied shipping from reaching the port. In the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations to open up the Scheldt river between Antwerp and the North Sea for shipping, so that Antwerp's port could be used to supply the Allies in north-west Europe. The oper ...

, the Canadian First Army successfully cleared the area, allowing supply convoys direct access to the port of Antwerp by November 1944.

Tributaries and sub-tributaries

Western Scheldt The Western Scheldt ( ), in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as ...

or Honte (

) ** Schijn (

) **

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sch ...

( Rupelmonde) *** Nete (

Rumst Rumst (, old spelling: ''Rumpst'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of (old spell ...

) **** Kleine Nete ( Lier) ***** Aa ( Grobbendonk) ***** Wamp ( Kasterlee) **** Grote Nete ( Lier) *****

Wimp WiMP is a music streaming service available on mobile devices, tablets, network players and computers. WiMP, standing for "Wireless Music Player," was a music streaming service that emphasized high-quality audio. WiMP offered music and podcast ...

( Herenthout) ***** Molse Nete (

Geel Geel () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Furthe ...

) ***** Laak (

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

) *** Dijle (

) ****

Zenne The ( French, ) or ( Dutch, ) is a small river that flows through Brussels, Belgium. Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dyle and the Rupel. It jo ...

(

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

) ***** Maalbeek (

Grimbergen Grimbergen () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Hu ...

) ***** Woluwe (

Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (; ; ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Halle-Vilvoorde district (''arrondissement'') of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Bra ...

) ***** Maalbeek (

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

) ***** Molenbeek (

Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

) ***** Neerpedebeek (

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

-Neerpede) ***** Zuun ( Sint-Pieters-Leeuw-Zuun) ***** Geleytsbeek ( Drogenbos) ***** Linkebeek ( Drogenbos) ***** Molenbeek ( Lot) ***** Senette ( Tubize) ****** Hain ( Tubize) ****** Samme ( Braine-le-Comte-Ronquières) ******* Thines (

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

) **** Vrouwvliet (

) urther upstream named Grote Beek, Meerloop">Grote_Beek.html" ;"title="urther upstream named Grote Beek">urther upstream named Grote Beek, Meerloop, Raambeek">Grote Beek">urther upstream named Grote Beek, Meerloop">Grote_Beek.html" ;"title="urther upstream named Grote Beek">urther upstream named Grote Beek, Meerloop, Raambeek, Zwartwaterbeek, Boeimeer] **** Demer (Rotselaar) ***** Velp (river), Velp (Halen) ***** Gete (Halen) ****** Herk (river), Herk (Halen) ******* Melsterbeek (Herk-de-Stad) ****** Grote Gete (

Zoutleeuw Zoutleeuw (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Hageland, in the extreme east of the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 8,498 inhabitants. The t ...

) ****** Kleine Gete (

) ****

Voer The Voer (Dutch, ; ) is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a right-bank tributary to the river Meuse. It has three (creek-) tributaries of its own: the ''Veurs'', the ''Noor (Meuse), Noor'' and the ''Beek''. The source of the Voer ...

(

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

) **** IJse ( Huldenberg-Neerijse) **** Nethen (

Grez-Doiceau Grez-Doiceau (; ; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Grez-Doiceau had a total population of 12,403. The total area is which gives a populatio ...

-Nethen) **** ( Huldenberg-Terlanen- Sint-Agatha-Rode) ***** Zilverbeek ( Rixensart-Genval) **** Thyle (

Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve had a total population of 29,521. The total area is 32.96 km2 which giv ...

) ** Durme (

) ** Molenbeek ( Wichelen) **

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

(

) *** Mark (

Lessines Lessines (; ; ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. As of the 2014 census, The municipality's total population was 18,637. The total area is which gi ...

-Twee-Akren) *** Ruisseau d'Ancre (

) *** Zulle ( Ath) *** Eastern Dender ( Ath) *** Western Dender ( Ath) *** Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek ( Hofstade) ** Lys/Leie (

) *** Mandel ( Wielsbeke) *** Heulebeek ( Kuurne) *** Gaverbeek (

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

) ***

Douve The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the cours ...

( Comines-Warneton) *** Deûle/Deule or Feule ( Deûlémont) ****

Marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

( Wasquehal) **** Souchez (

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

) ***** Carency ( Souchez) *****

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

( Souchez) ***

Laquette The Laquette is a river of northern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre a ...

( Aire-sur-la-Lys) *** Lawe ( De Gorge- Stegers) **** Brette, (Biette), Blanche, ruisseau de Caucourt, fossé d'Avesnes (Loisne) *** Clarence ( Meregem) ****

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, Grand Nocq *** Becque de Steenwerk (..) ** Zwalm ( Zwalm) ** Rone (

Kluisbergen Kluisbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, along the Scheldt river. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kwaremont, and which fused in 1971. In 2021, Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,682 ...

) *** Rhosne ( Ronse) ** Scarpe ( Mortagne-du-Nord) *** Crinchon (..) *** Ugy (..) ** Haine (

Condé-sur-l'Escaut Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; ) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the border with Belgium. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are known as Condéens or Con ...

) *** Trouille (

- Jeumont) *** Hogneau of Honneau (

) **** Honelle ( Quiévrain) ***** Aunelle (..) ***** Grande Honelle (..) ***** Petite Honelle (..) ** Rhonelle (

) ** Écaillon ( Thiant) ** Selle ( Denain) ** Torrent d'Esnes ** Sensée ( Bouchain) *** Hirondelle (..) ** Erclin ( Iwuy) ** Eauette ( Marcoing)

Navigation

Canalisation from Cambrai down to Valenciennes was completed in 1788.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

saw the benefits of linking Paris to Belgium and accelerated completion of the Canal de Saint-Quentin to the south. The locks were deepened and doubled, as coal became the essential commodity of the industrial revolution. Upgrading downstream from Bouchain was started in the 1960s in both France and Flanders, but the waterway is still not fully compliant with European standards. All the locks on the high-capacity section are being doubled by European Class Vb size locks, , as part of the overall European Seine-Scheldt waterway project. The Pont des Trous, a listed fortified bridge in Tournai that has already been substantially modified, will again be raised to provide the necessary dimensions, including an air draught of . The 13 km section between Cambrai (connection with Canal de Saint-Quentin) and Hordain (connection with Canal de la Sensée) is only navigable for small ships ( péniche) and has 5 locks.Fluviacarte
Escaut (à petit gabarit)

References

External links