The Grand Canal d'Alsace (or Grand Alsace Canal) is a canal in eastern France, channeling the Rhine river. It is 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) long. It provides access to the region from the Rhine River, Basel in Switzerland, and the North Sea for barges of up to 1,350 metric tons. Construction began in 1932 and was completed after World War II. The canal diverted much of the water from the original bed of the fast-flowing Rhine in this area, which is now almost entirely unnavigable by boats. The Grand Canal produces hydroelectric power at Kembs and Ottmarscheim to supply electricity to one of the most heavily industrialized regions in France. Capital Strasbourg Land area¹ 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - Jan. ... The Canal du Midi in Toulouse, France Canals are man-made waterways, usually connecting existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. ... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... A mile is a unit of distance (or, in physics terminology, length) currently defined as 5,280 feet, 1,760 yards, or 63,360 inches. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1. ... Location within Switzerland Basel (English traditionally: Basle , German: Basel , French Bâle , Italian Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (188,000 inhabitants in the canton of Basel-City as of 2004; the 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ...