Channel of the Moors

The Channel of the Moors or Canal of Cazaux is an artificial channel of 14.5km connecting the lake of Cazaux to the Bassin of Arcachon. Built in 1838 by the Company of Exploitation and Colonization of the Moors , it crosses the communes of Tests It of Buch and Gujan-Mestras. At present it is more maintained only on the last 4 kilometers before the Basin of Arcachon, where a course of health makes the access possible to the banks of the channel.

History

Precursors

Vauban wished in 1681 to create a channel having to connect the Bassin of Arcachon to Bayonne through the ponds Landais. Many projects during XVIIe and XVIIIe century S remained without continuation.

Within the framework of the development of a project aiming at to stabilize the littoral dunes, a naval engineer, Mr. Charlevoix de Villiers, was sent with Teste in 1778 to carry out a prior study, which also related to the digging of a channel connecting the Basin of Arcachon to the Adour. Mr. Charlevoix de Villiers concludes that it was useless to dig a channel before the Dune S are not fixed. The service of the Bridges and Chaussées undertook the fixing of the dunes. As for the project of the channel, he was forgotten during the Révolution.

In 1820, a lawyer of Bordeaux, Mr. Boyer-Fonfrède, wanted to realize “with its expenses, risks and dangers” a channel which would allow a River navigation between the Lac of Cazaux and the Bassin of Arcachon. The idea had been inspired to him in the living rooms of Teste, to which it had access since its marriage with a young lady of the family of Peyjehan. It was caught passion for this project and went as far as asking for the State the authorization of dig this channel, which was granted to him. But it was scrambled with the municipality of Teste and the associate with whom it had assembled the company intended to undertake work, and could not conclude its project.

The Company of Exploitation and Colonization of the Moors

The idea was taken up in 1834, under the reign of Louis Philippe, by the Compagnie of Exploitation and Colonization of the Moors only created to dig, exploit and maintain the channel. In the beginning, two sections were envisaged. The first, connecting Cazaux to Aureilhan by Mimizan, was born never while the 14 kilometers of work of the second part began on April 1st 1835. On 8 lock S envisaged, 7 will be carried out. The first stone of the first lock will be posed in 1838.

De Cazaux with Hume, the channel measured 14,5km; its width varied 13m with 24m and its depth was of 1,65m on the level of the bench. The average height of the fall on the level of the locks was of 2,65m.

The channel allows in 1840 the Goods transport, primarily of iron, to feed the factories and the forging mills which take their rise with this opening to the Navigation. 3.20F had to be paid toll for 1000kg and the Barque S used carried 12 to 13 barrels. Transported annual tonnage was on average about 7000 tons, ensuring a receipt from 18.000 to 20.000 francs, insufficient to cover the expenses. In order to increase its incomes, the Company opened the channel with the river Tourisme in 1845. It installed with Hume a Bateau intended to go for walks Sunday at the costs of 2,50 F to go to the pond of Cazaux and to return. Unfortunately that is not enough, because in addition to the lack of profitability, the stranding posed many problems, a phenomenon that the Engineer S had underestimated; the Company of Exploitation and Colonization of the Moors filed for bankruptcy in 1857 and navigation ceased towards 1860.

The Agricultural and Industrial Company of Arcachon

In parallel, the Agricultural and Industrial Compagnie of Arcachon sees the day in 1837, thanks to the investments of Aristocrate S Parisiens. They saw in this country the poor and arid birth of new a Eldorado. With the installation of a whole system of Irrigation since the channel, they thought of being able to return the grounds, located on the plain of Cazaux, fertile and to develop the food crops to withdraw important benefit from them. The arrival of water allowed in a first the culture of Carotte S and Blé, to replace the millet, the Maïs and the Seigle. However, this poor ground that one can neither amend nor to fatten is not productive enough and generates in 1846 the bankruptcy of this Company.

The Working Company of Colonization of the Moors of Gascogne

In 1849 creates for itself the Working Compagnie of Colonization of the Moors of Gascogne . It repurchases the pieces given up by the Agricultural and Industrial Compagnie of Arcachon to exploit Rizière S there by drowning the fields thanks to the existing irrigation. In 1850 and 1852, respectively 3.000 and 10.000 hectolitres of Riz are collected. Many projects were launched by the shareholders: variety of the cultures and extraordinary promises of outputs, to create a basin of employment without precedent around the Company. Unfortunately, an unquestionable ignorance of the grounds of Landais of Tests and of Gujan led the Company very right to liquidation. The Maritime pine (endemic species ) is the only species which will succeed in drawing its pin from the play in all the Landes of Gascogne. This Company, before ceasing its activity in 1860, made dig the Port of the Channel with Gujan-Mestras to install there an establishment of baths in 1854.

The abandonment of the Channel

The communes sowed their territories in pines as from 1857; the forest developed at the end of the XIXe century and the channel of Cazaux was abandoned.

Once forsaken great projects of installation, the washing machines took possession of the Channel to satisfy the hotels and the crested customers of Arcachon, then with its apogee. They occupied a band of the ground located on the commune of Gujan Mestras.

During the Second world war the Germans, who feared an English invasion, still nowadays replaced the locks by Barrage S of Palplanche S, visible, to flood all the grounds of Gujan, Tests It and Cazaux and thus to delay the projection of the enemy troops. Fortunately for the population of the time, the history will have wanted some differently.

If the Channel of the Moors is given up today, preventing navigation between the Lake Cazaux and the Basin of Arcachon, there exists however a channel in service currently, connecting the Lake Cazaux to that of Parentis, while circumventing the small pond of Biscarrosse. This short section is equipped with a lock with small gauge in self-service free, in Navarosse.

External bond

Dictionary of the rivers and channels of France: the channel of the Moors presented synthetically under the patrimonial angle.

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