Portage

With Portage a place is referred to the canoes or other boats are transported over land to avoid an obstacle on the water route. Such obstacles may be, for example, rapids, waterfalls, rapids and fallen trees. Even between two (usually close together leading past ) waterways, there are portages. In waterways that are used economically, most of these portages have been replaced by canals with locks.

Besides the town and the act or conduct of transport is called Portage.

Features a Portage

The Portage generally requires the unloading of vessels and the transport of all goods and boats across the country. However, many times the distance must often be covered, as not all goods are taken by a boat that can be worn at a time.

When traveling in a group and short portages with a good foot traffic can be dispensed with an unloading of the canoe. The canoe is then shared by several ( four or six) people. Partly also laden canoes strapped on boat trailer with well-developed portages. Usually the sustainability of boat trailer is enough only for empty canoes, at a strain with loaded boats the risk of damage increases excessively on.

Many portages only have a length of several hundred meters, but occasionally there are several miles, as some obstacles must be overcome widely until again offers a convenient insertion site. Depending on the terrain profile and condition of the road but can require many hours also overcoming a Portage with a short distance.

Genesis

Portages were on the medieval route from the Varangians to the Greeks, from Scandinavia to Byzantium.

About 5,000 km of water ways that allowed the trappers in North America to bring their goods to distant places. Since about 1722, first used French explorers and missionaries, the Grand Portage in Minnesota. To 1784, the Grand Portage was mainly used to transport the skins of the North West Company. These so-called voyageurs were hired who were familiar in the wilderness and with the canoes. In mild rapids portages were avoided by using Canoe Poling.

Frequently inhabited settlements, which can be identified by name originated at portages permanently. Relevant examples are to be found in the disambiguation for Portage.

Portaging in canoe marathon

The portages of obstacles placed after today at the Canoe Marathon as part of the competition, although most race courses are designed as a circuit with several rounds and usually contain no natural obstacles more. In the early days of the sport until the 1980s, however, it was customary to complete the entire distance in one piece, which was not feasible on most waters without the overcoming of weirs, sluices or other obstacles. Even when they went to on, mostly to complete marathons on circular courses, the portages were retained. The reasons were, firstly, that the change from boat to land and back into the boat offers viewers exciting position battles and on the other hand, this change prevents a too one-sided strain of the athletes.