Grand Shadew Canal
The Grand Shadew Canal is the system of five sets of locks used to circumvent the cataracts of the Shadew River as it passes through the Shadmaus, the high mountain valleys of Transalpine Agogia. Annual traffic of the canal has increased from about 300 craft the first year the canal opened (2694) to nearly ten thousand in the present day. The name Grand Shadew Canal refers to the use of independent lock channels along with the great Shadew River to create a navigable waterway from the High Shadevan Valley to the Pallathantic Sea.
Operation
Each of the five cataracts has a double system of locks on the land located on the north and south shores of the mighty Shadew River to enable simultaneous traffic in both directions. Left-side directionality is observed, so traffic on the north side moves to the east and traffic on the south side moves to the west. A sea barge circumventing Balik Shadew, the first and the highest of the cataracts, requires passage through eight successive chambers and makes an ascent or descent of about 134 gnödva (172m). For some cataracts, the locks are actually located inside of the mountain due to lack of space. The excavation of these enormous chambers was made possible using advanced dwarven excavation titancraft.
Five Locks Project
The Grand Shadew Canal was constructed from 2673 to 2694 by Aurician Corpora Mercia in what is known as the Five Locks Project.
Economic Changes
During the period of 2694 to the present, the canal transformed the economies of the Pallathantic nations and the nations of the Vale of Shadew which became the breadbox of the Pallathantic. The economies of the Vale of Shadew became much more integrated with the Pallathantic Region. Thracian farmers were able to produce grain more cheaply than farmers in Pytharnia and elsewhere in the Pallathantic. Farmers of Pytharnia and elsewhere had to change their crops and some adapted sheep and wool production. The two Gonfaloys established themselves as fine wool producers.
Shadevan Sea-Barges
Shadevan sea-barges are great freight barges that are the maximum size which the locks can admit which is 130 meters long and 23 meters wide. They are constructed in shipyards throughout the Pallathantic and as far as Glaye and Amerzcelindo. Those Shadevan sea-barges bearing grain are commonly called grain-barges. They ship grain from the High Shadevan Valley to the Pallathantic. Some grain-barges dock as soon as Shadmouthton where the grain is removed to dragonrail freight cars and transported throughout southern Pytharnia, including High Pytharnia, Dagdoria, Amyrn, and Tauhad. Other grain-barges continue into the Pallathantic Sea, docking at major cities such as Verdida, Ddwbha, Paddarvi, Elystrio, and Johaulia.
Sea-barges returning to the High Shadevan Valley bring manufactured goods, including textiles.
See Also
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