Contents 1 History 1.1 In Africa 1.2 In Europe 1.2.1 In Greece 1.2.2 In Russia 1.3 In North America 2 References

Portage refers to the practice of carrying a canoe or other boat over land to avoid an obstacle on the water route (such as rapids or a waterfall in a river), or between two bodies of water. Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in central Ontario. A canoe is a small narrow Boat, typically human-powered though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors A boat is a Watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water and provide transport over it RAPID is an acronym for Rural Address Property IDentification a scheme instituted in New Zealand to assist emergency services in identifying and locating rural properties A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water often in the form of a Stream, flowing over an Erosion -resistant rock "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage, while a person doing the carrying is called a porter.

Over time, depending on the importance of the portages, they were sometimes upgraded to canals with locks, and even portage railways. Canals are artificial channels for water There are two types of canals water conveyance canals which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water and Waterways A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal Waterways. A Portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of Railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are Portaging generally required unloading the vessel and carrying vessel and contents across the portage in multiple trips. Voyageurs would often employ a tump line on their head to carry a load armfree on their back. A coureur des bois (runner of the woods was an individual who engaged in the Fur trade without permission from the French authorities /tump-lyne/A tumpline is a Strap attached at both ends to a Backpack or other Luggage and used to carry the object by placing the strap over the top of Small canoes can be portaged by carrying them inverted over one's shoulders and the center thwart may be designed in the style of a yoke to facilitate this. A yoke is a wooden beam which is used between a pair of Oxen to allow them to pull a load (oxen almost always work in pairs

Portages can range in length from dozens of meters to many kilometers in length (the famous 19 km Methye Portage being a good example), and often cover hilly or difficult terrain. The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche is part of an old fur-trade route across western Canada. Most portages are the result of elevation changes, either changes in elevation from one body of water to another, or changes in elevation of the land in between. This results in most portages involving some measure of climbing or descending. However some, such as Mavis Grind in Shetland exist on an Isthmus where it is easier or safer to transport a boat over-land than round it. Mavis Grind is a narrow Isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of Shetland Mainland in the Shetland Islands, UK. Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas In these cases the climbing or descending required is often minimal.

History

In Africa

Portages played an important part in the economy of some African societies. For instance, Bamako was chosen as the capital of Mali because it is located on the Niger River near the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys. Bamako, population 1690471 (2006 is the Capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. The Niger River (ˈnaɪdʒɚ NYE-jer) is the principal River of western Africa, extending about 4180 km (2600 miles

In Europe

In Greece

The Diolkos was a paved trackway in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth from the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf. The Diolkos &mdashfrom the Greek dia (across and holkos (portage&mdashwas a paved trackway in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow landbridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος Saronikós kólpos) or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the The 6 to 8. 5 km long roadway was a rudimentary form of railway,^[1] and operated from ca. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. 600 BC until the middle of the 1st century AD. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [1]}

In Russia

In the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries, the Viking merchants-adventurers exploited a network of waterways in Eastern Europe, with portages connecting the four most important rivers of the region: Volga, Western Dvina, Dnieper, and Don. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The Daugava or Western Dvina (Daugava Западная Двина́ (Zapadnaya Dvina Заходняя Дзвiна za'xodnʲaja dzʲvʲi'na Dźwina Düna Väina For the rocket see Dnepr rocket. For other uses see Dnieper (disambiguation. The Don (Дон is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 Kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast The portages of present-day Russia were vital for the Varangian commerce with the Orient and Byzantium. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Varangians or Varyags ( Old Norse: Væringjar Greek: Βάραγγοι Βαριάγοι Váraggoi / Varyágoi, Ukrainian The Orient is a term which simply means the " East " It originated in Western Asia to describe that part of the world This article is about the city See also Byzantine Empire. Byzantium ( Greek: Βυζάντιον Latin: la BYZANTIVM

At the most important portages (such as Gnezdovo) there were trade outposts inhabited by a mixture of Norse merchants and native population. Gnezdovo or Gnyozdovo (Гнёздово is an archeological site located near the village of Gnyozdovo in Smolensk Oblast, Russia The Khazars built the fortress of Sarkel to guard a key portage between the Volga and the Don. "Kazar" redirects here for the Marvel Comics character see Ka-Zar; for the village in Azerbaijan see Xəzər. Sarkel (or Sharkil, literally white house in Khazar language) was a large limestone-and-brick fortress built by the Khazars with Byzantine After the Varangian and Khazar power in Eastern Europe waned, Slavic merchants continued to use the portages along the Volga trade route and the Dnieper trade route. In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks (Путь «из варяг в греки» Put iz varyag v greki) was a Trade route, which connected Scandinavia The names of the towns Volokolamsk and Vyshny Volochek may be translated as "the portage on the Lama River" and "the upper portage", respectively (the word "volok" means "portage" in Russian, derived from the verb "to drag"). Volokolamsk (Волокола́мск is the town and administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia Vyshny Volochyok (Вы́шний Волочёк is a town in Tver Oblast of Russia. Lama River (Лама is a River in the Moscow and Tver Oblasts in Russia, a tributary of the Shosha River.

In North America

Places where portaging occurred often became temporary and then permanent settlements (such as Hull, Quebec, Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Chicago, Illinois). Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Sault Ste Marie (nicknamed "the Sault" or "the Soo" is a City on the St New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Sometimes the settlements were named for being on a portage, particularly in North America. Some places so named are:

• Cranberry Portage, Manitoba
• Grand Portage, Minnesota
• Portage, Wisconsin
• Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
• Portage, Michigan
• Portage, Indiana, was named so indirectly, since there has been never any portage
• Portage, Pennsylvania
• Portage County, Ohio
• Portage Park, Chicago
• Seton Portage, British Columbia
• Giscome Portage, British Columbia

References

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