Varkaantaipale canal

The Varkaantaipale canal was completed in 1877. The canal was built mainly by excavation, but in places the edges of the canal were reinforced by cold masonry and stone lining. There is also a story behind the name of the canal. Two different routes were initially considered for the canal. The canal engineer and his team had first measured and piled a route that went straight through the rock. They left their backpacks on this first route and then moved on to pile the alternative route, which followed a hollow. On returning to retrieve their rucksacks, they were annoyed to discover that they had been stolen. As a result of this incident, the men began to call this shorter route the Thieves' Trail. When the shorter route was finally chosen as the location of the canal, the name Varkaantaipale became established.

Source: ristiinalainen

Geology

The main type of rock in the canal rock cuts is grayish granodiorite, the main minerals of which are plagioclase and quartz. In addition, small amounts of potassium feldspar and biotite are present. The rock has crystallized from magma deep in the earth’s crust in connection with mountain-folding process about 1,889 to 1,887 million years ago. In addition to granodiorite boulders, in the embankments of the canal have also been used pegmatite-granite boulders, which are typical for the area. The naturally preserved parts of the bedrock bordering the canal have grooved roche moutonnées that have had their gently curved and smoothed shape during the last ice age as the continental ice sheet flowed over the area.

Image: city of Mikkeli