III.

Navigation and Commerce

The Rhine is navigable from its mouth to Rheinfeld, on the Swiss-German border, a distance of more than 800 km (500 mi). The principal rivers of Western Europe, including the Seine, Elbe, Ems, Rhône, and Saône, are linked to it by canals. In 1992, the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, a project that had been discussed for centuries, was finally completed, making possible commercial water transport between the North Sea and the Black Sea. The Rhine drains an area noted for its mineral, industrial, and agricultural wealth, and has been open to international navigation since 1868 by terms of the Mannheim Convention. Modern technology now permits 24-hr navigation and transport of heavier loads on the river of coal, iron ore, grain, potash, petroleum, iron and steel, timber, and other commodities.