Rideau Canal

Rideau Canal, south-eastern Ontario, connecting Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River at Ottawa. The canal, built by the British between 1826 and 1832, flows through the city of Ottawa and then proceeds generally south-west along the Rideau River to the Rideau Lakes. The canal subsequently continues along the Cataraqui River to Lake Ontario. A branch of the canal, the Tay Canal, connects the town of Perth to Big Rideau Lake. Originally intended to carry military traffic, the approximately 200-km (125-mi) Rideau Canal, which has 47 locks, has developed primarily into a recreational waterway. It is considered one of the major early civil-engineering works of North America, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Up to 2,000 men were employed to construct the canal; many of them died of malaria.