The Canal de la Meuse is the current name of what used to be the northern branch of the Canal de l'Est ("canal of the east"). It is a canal in northeastern France, predominantly made up of the canalised river Meuse. The Canal de l'Est was built from 1874 to 1887 to provide a waterway inside the new border with Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War, Overall, the canal had a total length of . In 2003, the northern and southern branches were officially renamed Canal de la Meuse and Canal des Vosges respectively.[1]
The Canal de la Meuse starts at Givet in the Ardennes département. It follows the Meuse upstream, passing through Mouzon, Fumay, Revin, Nouzonville, Charleville-Mézières, Sedan, Stenay, Verdun, Saint-Mihiel and Commercy, and joins the Canal de la Marne au Rhin at Troussey. This canal is long. For most of its length, the canal is the canalised river Meuse.[2]
Originally, the southern branch of the Canal de l'Est started at Toul, where it branched off the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Since the Moselle has been made navigable for high-capacity barges up to Neuves-Maisons, the 27km (17miles) part of the Canal de l'Est between Toul and Neuves-Maisons is considered part of the Moselle. The canal follows the Moselle upstream through Charmes and Thaon-les-Vosges until Golbey, north of Épinal, where it leaves the Moselle valley. It passes through Les Forges and enters the valley of the Côney near Uzemain. It follows the Côney downstream until its confluence with the Saône at Corre in the Haute-Saône department, the southern end of the Canal de l'Est. This branch of the canal is long.[2]
| branch | commune | latitude and longitude | |
|---|---|---|---|
| northern | Givet | 50.1653°N 4.8231°W | |
| northern | Fumay | 49.995°N 4.7047°W | |
| northern | Revin | 49.9405°N 4.6385°W | |
| northern | Nouzonville | 49.8168°N 4.7411°W | |
| northern | Charleville-Mézières | 49.7597°N 4.7245°W | |
| northern | Sedan | 49.7017°N 4.9358°W | |
| northern | Mouzon | 49.6094°N 5.0721°W | |
| northern | Stenay | 49.4895°N 5.1822°W | |
| northern | Verdun | 49.1532°N 5.3837°W | |
| northern | Saint-Mihiel | 48.8886°N 5.5365°W | |
| northern | Commercy | 48.7657°N 5.5951°W | |
| northern | Troussey | 48.7145°N 5.6901°W | |
| southern | Toul | 48.6832°N 5.9064°W | |
| southern | Neuves-Maisons | 48.607°N 6.1083°W | |
| southern | Charmes | 48.3741°N 6.2953°W | |
| southern | Thaon-les-Vosges | 48.2473°N 6.4255°W | |
| southern | Golbey | 48.2091°N 6.4398°W | |
| southern | Les Forges | 48.1816°N 6.3901°W | |
| southern | Uzemain | 48.1069°N 6.3157°W | |
| southern | Corre | 47.9114°N 5.9946°W |