Abandoned Canal

There’s nothing around but this random ditch. Not a natural feature, it snakes across the Southern Alberta prairies while following the lay of the land. Bend left, deke right, and soon it’s many clicks long, even if the start and end points are a short distance apart. This is an abandoned canal and we’ve yet to find mention of it in records or history books.

It appears to have never been completed and the section we explored ends abruptly at the edge of wide slough. It continuities on the far side – we could see it – but a flume of some sort would have been needed to span this low lying area. We found no evidence of that being put in. The dates here can only be guessed at but it’s clearly old and so overgrown that it blends in well.

We didn’t even know it existed before and almost walked by without noticing. Our goal was to discover old coal diggings but also found this canal. Obscure history like this is thrilling, even if we came up empty in regards to a backstory.

Something similar but on a grander scale…
Wet Dreams – No longer in use.

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Date of adventure: May, 2021.

In the literal middle of nowhere, this abandoned canal.

We suspect it was never put into service.