Everything about Portage totally explained
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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's easier or safer to transport a boat over-land than round it. In these cases the climbing or descending required is often minimal.
History
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 6 to 8.5 km long roadway was a rudimentary form of
railway, and operated from ca. 600 BC until the middle of the 1st century AD.
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. The portages of present-day
Russia were vital for the
Varangian commerce with the
Orient and
Byzantium.
At the most important portages (such as
Gnezdovo) there were trade outposts inhabited by a mixture of Norse merchants and native population. The
Khazars built the fortress of
Sarkel to guard a key portage between the Volga and the Don. 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. 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").
North America
Places where portaging occurred often became temporary and then permanent settlements (such as
Hull, Quebec,
Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, and
Chicago, Illinois). 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
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's located on the
Niger River near the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Portage'.
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