Soot Canal

The Soot Canal (Norwegian: Sootkanalen) was a canal system located in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Constructed in 1849, it has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot (1786-1859). It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the Halden sawmills. The canal was 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at an elevation of 185 metres (607 ft) above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at 201 metres (659 ft) above sea level.

Soot Canal
Soot Fredrikshald
Map of the canal system
Location	Eidskog
Country	Norway
Coordinates	59°53′26.88″N 11°51′29.51″E
Specifications
Locks	16
Maximum height above sea level	201 metres (659 ft)
Minimum height above sea level	185 metres (607 ft)
Total rise	16 metres (52 ft)
Status	Closed
History
Date completed	1849
Date closed	1932
Geography
Start point	Lake Skjervangen
End point	Lake Mortsjølungen
Beginning coordinates	59.894329°N 11.86873197°E / 59.894329; 11.86873197
Ending coordinates	59.88461520°N 11.8526346°E / 59.88461520; 11.8526346

The Soot Canal was in operation from 1849 to 1932. The channel consisted of the original 16 locks between Skjervangen and Mortskjølungen. The Grasmobanen, a 1,460-metre (4,790 ft) long railroad that hauled the timber between the lakes Mortsjølungen and Tvillingtjern, was also part of the canal system. In 1987, the municipality of Eidskog acquired rights to the countercurrent sluice system and labeled it a landmark attraction.

Other sources

• "Great pictures of the sluice gates" (in Norwegian). Blogspot. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
• "Sootkanalen" (in Norwegian). Info from Eidskogmuseum. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
• "Sootkanalen" (in Norwegian). Info from Akershusmuseet. Retrieved 27 February 2015.

External links

• Sootkanalen (Eidskog Museum)