Editing Canal (section)

==Importance==
<!-- This section needs information on irrigation canals. -->Historically, canals were of immense importance to the commerce, development, growth and vitality of a civilization. The movement of bulk raw materials such as coal and ores—practically a prerequisite for further urbanization and industrialization—were difficult and only marginally affordable to move without water transport. The movement of bulk raw materials, facilitated by canals, fueled the [[Industrial Revolution]], leading to new research disciplines, new industries and economies of scale, raising the standard of living for industrialized societies.

The few canals still in operation in the 21st century are a fraction of the number that were once maintained during the earlier part of the Industrial Revolution. Their replacement was gradual, beginning first in the United Kingdom in the 1840s, where canal shipping was first augmented by, and later superseded by the much faster, less geographically constrained, and generally cheaper to maintain [[railway]]s.

By the early 1880s, many canals which had little ability to compete with rail transport were abandoned. In the 20th century, oil was increasingly used as the heating fuel of choice, and the growth of coal shipments began to decrease. After the [[World War I|First World War]], technological advances in [[Truck|motor trucks]] as well as expanding road networks saw increasing amounts of freight being transported by road, and the last small U.S. barge canals saw a steady decline in cargo ton-miles.

The once critical smaller inland waterways conceived and engineered as boat and barge canals have largely been supplanted and filled in, abandoned and left to deteriorate, or kept in service under a park service and staffed by government employees, where dams and locks are maintained for flood control or pleasure boating. Today, most [[ship canal]]s (intended for larger, oceangoing vessels) service primarily service [[bulk material handling|bulk cargo]] and large [[ship transport]]ation industries. 

The longest extant canal today, the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] in northern China, still remains in heavy use, especially the portion south of the [[Yellow River]]. It stretches from [[Beijing]] to [[Hangzhou]] at 1,794 kilometres (1,115 miles).