The Colonel's Canal
PHOTOS: JAMES BALLANTYNE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA133871; W.A. CURRENT, PARKS CANADA—H.06.338.08.10(7); F. CATTROLL, PARKS CANADA—H.06.338.08.10(04); P. MORIN, PARKS CANADA—H.06.40.06.14(07)
From top: An early depiction of the locks at the Ottawa end of the Rideau Canal; an aerial view of Jones Falls; many of the locks are still hand operated, like this gate at Jones Falls; a tour boat cruises the canal in Ottawa.
Stretching 202 kilometres from Kingston, Ont., to Ottawa, the Rideau Canal is one of North America's most scenic waterways. It is also a National Historic Site, a Canadian Heritage River and might very well be declared--sometime soon--a World Heritage Site, the highest global designation any si...