Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
13.ThelowerreachesoftheWestLynRiverflowingthroughLynmouthinsouthwest-
ern England were channelized after a devastating flood that killed 34 people in the
villagein1952.Thechannelwaswidenedandembankmentsbuilttoincreaseitsca-
pacity
Some of the earliest scientific principles of channel regulation were established in Italy,
where Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the invention of the pound lock using built-in
vertical gates as a means of overcoming variations in river level. He produced the design at
the end of the 15th century for a lock on the Naviglio Grande canal from Ticino to Milan,
a development that acted as a considerable spur to inland navigation. Two hundred years
