160 Unusual Things to See in Ontario ~ Rideau Canal

 Another place I have not been yet . . . but it is on my bucket list . . . 

Like Versailles in France, the Acropolis in Greece and Machu Picchu in Peru, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers the Rideau Canal to have outstanding universal value. (UNESCO) designated the canal a World Heritage Site in 2007. It is one of Canada’s 20 World Heritage Sites, and one of two in Ontario.

Few other rivers have been so drastically altered by humans. The current Rideau Waterway is a series of narrow lakes and marshes connecting Ottawa to Lake Ontario; many of its previous bends, rapids and shores were swallowed by the system of locks put in place in the 19th century. The waterway is, however, still a habitat for an abundance of wildlife. Muskellunge, largemouth bass, pike and snapping turtles, otters, deer, beavers, muskrats, mink, foxes, loons, ducks, Canada geese, great blue herons, osprey, marsh hawks, and black rat snakes are just some of the species that call the Rideau home.

The Rideau passes through the imposing geology of the Canadian Shield and past rolling agricultural fields; steep cliffs, rocky outcroppings and gentle shores.

The Rideau Canal was specifically designed for steam-powered vessels and is one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. It is the best-preserved slackwater canal system and its mode of operation has changed very little since the beginning. 

In the history of the canal there have been three different eras. The military period began with canal construction that provided a secure defensible supply route from Montreal to Kingston, an alternative to the St. Lawrence River in the uneasy years following the War of 1812. The Merrickville blockhouse is the largest military fortification that was built on the canal.

A slow military decline over the next couple of decades resulted in the canal becoming primarily a commercial waterway. Timber, potash, mica, feldspar, iron ore and phosphate were shipped along the Rideau by steamer and barge destined for the United States, Montreal or England. With the advent of railroads, which were quicker and more economical, the canal’s commercial activity became mostly local.

The 1880s heralded in the recreational period with luxury excursion steamers, such as the Rideau King and Rideau Queen, ferrying loads of travelers and sightseers along the picturesque waterway.

Today, the canal continues to be an international recreational attraction, accessible both by water and by land.