Canal de Jonction at Salleles d'Aude(Nancy)

The La Nouvelle branch (french: embranchement de La Nouvelle)It is also sometimes referred to as or . is a branch of the Canal du Midi in

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

, southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

which runs from the Canal du Midi through

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the M ...

and on to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

. It is made up of three waterways: the first is the Canal de Jonction from the Canal du Midi to the

, the second section is of the Aude itself and the third is the Canal de la Robine which enters the Mediterranean at

Port-la-Nouvelle Port-la-Nouvelle (; oc, La Novèla) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Population See also * Corbières AOC * Communes of the Aude department The following is a list of the 433 communes of the Aude department of Fra ...

. The La Nouvelle branch is designated a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as part of the Canal du Midi and is managed by the French navigation authority, Voies navigables de France.

Canal de Jonction

The Canal de Jonction runs in a dead straight line and was built in 1776 to provide access to Narbonne from the Canal du Midi via the Canal de la Robine. The Canal de Jonction enters the Aude some 800 m upstream from where the Canal de la Robine leaves it. Prior to 1776 the Canal du Midi port for Narbonne was Le Somail, by road from the city centre.

Locks on the Canal de Jonction

The Aude

Navigation is in the river

for a distance of only between the two canals. However, on leaving the Canal de Jonction it is necessary first to head upstream before turning and coming back downstream against the opposite bank to the Canal de la Robine in order to avoid shallows caused by silt banks in the middle of the channe

Canal de la Robine

Following its opening in 1681, the commercial success of the Canal du Midi was such that Narbonne traders demanded improved access to it, so in 1686 the Canal de la Robine was constructed by Vauban as a lockless open cut following an abandoned course of the Aude. The northern end of the canal is at the Aude at Moussoulens just south of Sallèles-d'Aude from where goods were transported by land to the Canal du Midi at Le Somail — a journey of approximately . A century later, when the Canal de Jonction was constructed, the Canal de la Robine was straightened and six single locks were built to deal with the more severe gradients, Narbonne finally had direct waterway access to the Canal du Midi. From the Aude the canal passes through the centre of Narbonne and under the Merchants' Bridge (''fr: le pont des Marchands'') which is one of the few bridges in France which is still lined with houses. From there it runs through Bages and the Ile Sainte Lucie nature reserve before meeting the Mediterranean at

Locks on the Canal de la Robine

A. Depending on the River Aude water level.

Notes

References

External links

Canal du Midi
an
La Nouvelle branch
with maps and details of places, ports and moorings, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', 8th ed., 2010, Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{DEFAULTSORT:La Nouvelle Branch Canal du Midi World Heritage Sites in France Canals in France Transport in Occitania (administrative region) Buildings and structures in Aude Canals opened in 1776