Assawoman Canal
The path of the Assawoman Canal
LocationSussex County, Delaware
CountryUnited States
Coordinates38°32′07″N 75°04′35″W / 38.5353°N 75.0765°W / 38.5353; -75.0765
Specifications
Length4 miles (6.4 km)
LocksNone
StatusOpen
History
Date completed1891
Geography
Start pointIndian River Bay
End pointLittle Assawoman Bay
Beginning coordinates38°33′28″N 75°05′23″W / 38.5577°N 75.0896°W / 38.5577; -75.0896
Ending coordinates38°30′21″N 75°03′53″W / 38.5057°N 75.0647°W / 38.5057; -75.0647
Branch ofIntracoastal Waterway

The Assawoman Canal is a canal in Sussex County, Delaware. The canal links the Indian River Bay to the north with the Little Assawoman Bay to the south. It is bordered by Bethany Beach and South Bethany to the east and Ocean View to the west.[1][2] Because of it, Fenwick Island is detached from the Delaware mainland.

First proposed in 1884, the Assawoman Canal was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1891 for the purpose of moving goods by boat without having to travel into the Atlantic Ocean.[3] The canal was initially dug by hand in the 1890s by immigrant labor.[4] The canal was not dredged from the 1950s until 2006. By the early 2000s, it was no longer deep enough to handle the boat traffic that once passed through it when it was part of the Intracoastal Waterway.[5] From 2006 to 2010, the state undertook a dredging project that restored the canal to navigability, with a channel width of 35 feet (11 m) and a depth of 3 feet (0.91 m).[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation.
  2. ↑ "Assawoman Canal". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ↑ "Assawoman Canal". www.oceanviewde.com. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  4. ↑ "The Assawoman Canal". Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  5. ↑ "Assawoman Canal". Delmarva Kayak. Archived from the original on 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  6. ↑ "Assawoman Canal Dredging Project". Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  7. ↑ Forney, Dennis (25 May 2011). "A nice, easy passage through Assawoman Canal". Cape Gazette. Retrieved 2016-07-27.


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