The Canal de la Meuse () is the current name of what used to be the northern branch of the Canal de l'Est ("canal of the east"). It is a canal in northeastern

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 ...

, predominantly made up of the canalised river

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 ...

. The Canal de l'Est was built from 1874 to 1887 to provide a waterway inside the new border with Prussia after the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, Overall, the canal had a total length of . In 2003, the northern and southern branches were officially renamed Canal de la Meuse and Canal des Vosges respectively.Canal de l'Est in ''Dictionnaire des rivières et canaux de France''
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Canal de la Meuse (formerly Canal de l'Est, northern branch)

The Canal de la Meuse starts at

Givet Givet () (; ) is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border. It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It borders the French municipali ...

in the Ardennes département. It follows the Meuse upstream, passing through Mouzon, Fumay, Revin, Nouzonville,

Charleville-Mézières Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France and the prefecture of the Ardennes department, in the Grand Est region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. History Charleville and Mézières were ori ...

, Sedan,

Stenay Stenay () is a commune in north-eastern France. It lies in the Meuse department, which is located in the Lorraine portion of the Grand Est region. Its inhabitants are called ''Stenaisiens''. History In 679, the assassinated king Dagobert ...

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde ...

and

Commercy Commercy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time its lords were dependent on th ...

, and joins the

Canal de la Marne au Rhin 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 flow u ...

Troussey Troussey () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments o ...

. This canal is long. For most of its length, the canal is the canalised river Meuse.

Canal des Vosges (formerly southern branch)

Originally, the southern branch of the Canal de l'Est started at

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

, where it branched off the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Since the Moselle has been made navigable for high-capacity barges up to

Neuves-Maisons Neuves-Maisons (, literally ''New Houses'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in North-Eastern France, on the banks of the Moselle. The city had a great steel industry during the 19th and 20th century. Neuves-Maisons erected a ...

, the part of the Canal de l'Est between Toul and Neuves-Maisons is considered part of the Moselle. The canal follows the Moselle upstream through Charmes and

Thaon-les-Vosges Thaon-les-Vosges (; before 2022: ''Capavenir Vosges'') is a commune in the Vosges department of northeastern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 and consists of the former communes of Thaon-les-Vosges, Girmont and Oncour ...

until

Golbey Golbey () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It lies on the left bank of the Moselle, directly north of Épinal. Population See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 5 ...

, north of

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

, where it leaves the Moselle valley. It passes through Les Forges and enters the valley of the

Côney The Côney () is a long river in the Vosges (department), Vosges and Haute-Saône ''departments of France, départements'', northeastern France. Its source is near ''Lion Faing'', a lieu-dit in Dounoux. It flows generally southwest. It is a left t ...

near

Uzemain Uzemain () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Geography The Côney forms part of the commune's eastern border, flows westward through the sou ...

. It follows the Côney downstream until its confluence with the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

Corre Corre () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Côney flows southward through the middle of the commune, crosses the village, then flows into the Saône, which fo ...

in the

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Frainc-Comtou: ''Hâte-Saône''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.

department, the southern end of the Canal de l'Est. This branch of the canal is long.

Geographic latitude and longitude

References

External links

Canal de la Meuse
navigation guide; places, ports and moorings on the canal, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Canal des Vosges
navigation guide; places, ports and moorings on the canal, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) *, hydrological and Meuse catchment area data {{Authority control Est Canals opened in 1887