Corinthian Canal - Revision history

Lazarus: /* External links */

2006-06-26T13:32:00Z

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Lazarus at 13:29, June 26, 2006

2006-06-26T13:29:27Z

Irlandos at 09:47, April 2, 2006

2006-04-02T09:47:23Z

Irlandos at 09:46, April 2, 2006

2006-04-02T09:46:41Z

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The '''Corinth Canal''' is a [[canal]] connecting the [[Gulf of Corinth]] with the [[Saronic Gulf]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. It cuts through the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] and separates the [[Peloponnesus|Peloponnesian]] peninsula from the [[Greece|Greek]] mainland and therefore effectively makes it an island.

The canal is 6.3 km in length and was built between [[1881]] and [[1893]]. It was planned by the Hungarian architects István Türr and Béla Gerster, who had also been involved with early surveys for the Panama Canal. Its construction was started by a French company, which ceased works only after the two ends had been dug, due to financial difficulties. A Greek company took over, the main contractor being Antonis Matsas, and continued (and completed) the project, which is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 km long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide, it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships; 11,000 ships per year travel through the waterway. The low water depth of the canal is 8 meters.

At each end of the canal, seashore roads cross using unique submersible bridges that are lowered to the canal bottom to allow maritime traffic to pass

The first attempt to build a canal at the place was carried out by the tyrant [[Periander]] or Periandros in 7th century BC. He abandoned the project due to its technical difficulties and constructed an overland stone ramp, named [[Diolkos]] instead. Remnants of Diolkos still exist today next to the modern canal.
In the years of the late Roman Republic, Julius Caesar had foreseen the advantages of such a venture for his newly built, ''Colonia laus Iulia Corinthiensis''.
Later in [[67]]AD the philhellene Roman emperor Nero ordered 6,000 slaves to dig a canal with spades. The following year Nero died, and his successor Galba abandoned the project, since it appeared too expensive to him.

==External links==
* [http://www.periandros.gr/ Periandros S.A.] - Current operator of the Corinth Canal. Website contains photographs, fees and conditions for canal transit, and history of the site.
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris&ll=37.935791,22.982368&spn=0.081376,0.117090&t=k&hl=en Satellite view by Google Maps]

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Corinthia prefecture]]
[[Category:Geography of Greece]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:47, April 2, 2006
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−	The '''Corinth Canal''' is a [[canal]] connecting the [[Gulf of Corinth]] with the [[Saronic Gulf]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. It cuts through the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] and separates the [[Peloponnesus\|Peloponnesian]] peninsula from the [[Greece\|Greek]] mainland and therefore effectively makes it an island.	+	The '''Corinth Canal''' is a canal connecting the [[Gulf of Corinth]] with the [[Saronic Gulf]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. It cuts through the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] and separates the [[Peloponnesus\|Peloponnesian]] peninsula from the [[Greece\|Greek]] mainland and therefore effectively makes it an island.

	The canal is 6.3 km in length and was built between [[1881]] and [[1893]]. It was planned by the Hungarian architects István Türr and Béla Gerster, who had also been involved with early surveys for the Panama Canal. Its construction was started by a French company, which ceased works only after the two ends had been dug, due to financial difficulties. A Greek company took over, the main contractor being Antonis Matsas, and continued (and completed) the project, which is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 km long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide, it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships; 11,000 ships per year travel through the waterway. The low water depth of the canal is 8 meters.		The canal is 6.3 km in length and was built between [[1881]] and [[1893]]. It was planned by the Hungarian architects István Türr and Béla Gerster, who had also been involved with early surveys for the Panama Canal. Its construction was started by a French company, which ceased works only after the two ends had been dug, due to financial difficulties. A Greek company took over, the main contractor being Antonis Matsas, and continued (and completed) the project, which is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 km long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide, it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships; 11,000 ships per year travel through the waterway. The low water depth of the canal is 8 meters.

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 ==External links==
 * [http://www.periandros.gr/ Periandros S.A.] - Current operator of the Corinth Canal. Website contains photographs, fees and conditions for canal transit, and history of the site.
-* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Greece+Corinth&ie=UTF8&ll=37.941219,22.984257&spn=0.088809,0.123081&om=1 Satellite view by Google Maps]
+* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Greece+Corinth&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=37.941219,22.984257&spn=0.088809,0.123081&t=k Satellite view by Google Maps]
 {{Credit wikipedia}}