The Seuil de Naurouze, or Col de Naurouze, is the highest point (190 m above sea level) of the Canal du Midi in southern France. It is the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

point identified by

Pierre-Paul Riquet Stele in Toulouse Cathedral Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Background Paul Riquet was b ...

when he designed and built the canal. Water falling on the western side of this point flows to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

and on the eastern side to the

Mediterranean Sea 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 the ...

. It is on the border of the department of

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

and the department of the

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 ...

. In 1827, the heirs of

Riquet Riquet is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Dominique Riquet (born 1946), French surgeon and politician of the Radical Party and MEP * François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet (1771–1843), comte de Caraman was the 16th Prince de C ...

built the

Riquet Obelisk The Riquet Obelisk (french: Obélisque de Riquet) is dedicated to the creator of the Canal du Midi, Pierre-Paul Riquet. In 1827, the heirs of Riquet built the monument. The obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive o ...

. The

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

has a dedication: "To Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron Bonrepos, author of the Two Seas Canal in Languedoc". It is erected near the site of the former octagonal holding tank, called the

Bassin de Naurouze The Bassin de Naurouze is an octagonal holding tank, created during the building of the Canal du Midi as designed and built by Pierre-Paul Riquet. It was abandoned a few years after construction of the canal because of its recurrent silting probl ...

created during the building of the Canal du Midi. The flow of water from the

Bassin de St. Ferréol Bassin may refer to: People * Elieser Bassin (1840–1898), British Israelist * Mark Bassin, British geographer * Sherwood Bassin (born 1939), Canadian ice hockey executive Other uses * The Grand Bassin, the largest body of open water along the C ...

joins the Canal at this point. The locks closest to the Seuil de Naurouze are the Océan Lock on the Atlantic ocean side and the Mediterranee Lock on the Mediterranean sea side. The Seuil has been known since Antiquity: Greek geographer Strabo called it the Gaulish isthmus, and the Roman road ''

Via Aquitania The ''Via Aquitania'' was a Roman road created in 118 BC in the Roman province of Gaul. It started at Narbonne, where it connected to the ''Via Domitia''. It then went toward the Atlantic Ocean, via Toulouse and Bordeaux, covering approximately . ...

'', going from Narbonnes to Toulouse, went through the Seuil.

References

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Gallery

Image: France Canal du Midi épanchoir de Naurouze.jpg , Spillway in Naurouze Image: Naurouze Monument Riquet.jpg ,

Image: France Canal du Midi bief de partage1.jpg , Water joins the Canal from the Bassin de Naurouze Image: Canal du Midi obélisque Riquet Naurouze.jpg , Riquet Obelisk Image: France Canal du Midi rigole de la plaine.jpg ,

Rigole de la plaine The critical feature of the Canal du Midi was to provide sufficient water to ensure that the lock system continued to function, even through the summer months. The first part of this endeavor was the ''rigole de la plaine'' (french: trickle of th ...

empties into the Bassin de Naurouze Image: France Canal du Midi bief de partage2.jpg , Summit level sign at the watershed point Image: FR06 P1100974.jpg , Lock on the Canal du Midi at Naurouze. Image:Canal du Midi Schleusenschild.jpg, Sign indicating the Océan Lock at the Seuil de Naurouze. Image:Canal du Midi summit plaque, Seuil de Naurouze, August 2000.jpg, Canal du Midi summit plaque, Seuil de Naurouze, August 2000 Canal du Midi