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The canals ranked here use published lengths of named artificial waterways, and they label irrigation, transfer, and aqueduct types rather than mixing them. Rank is by the published length of a named artificial waterway, in kilometres, and the type of each waterway is labelled, because an irrigation canal, a water-transfer canal, and an open aqueduct are not the same kind of work as a historic navigation trunk [1][2][3]. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is first: the official length given by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism is 1,794 kilometres, a main-line figure that some official and encyclopedia pages give instead as 1,776 kilometres, while UNESCO describes the historic system as more than 2,000 kilometres of artificial waterways by the thirteenth century [1][2]. Those three figures are different measures, and this article records the official 1,794-kilometre main-line length as the ranking figure, with the 1,776 and UNESCO system totals labelled rather than hidden.
The first-stage middle route of China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project is an official water-transfer canal of 1,432 kilometres, and the Karakum Canal in Turkmenistan is 1,375 kilometres, an irrigation and supply canal that is navigable over much of its length [3][4]. The Indira Gandhi Canal in India is often cited at about 650 kilometres for the feeder and main line, 204 plus 445 kilometres, while the same official project, including later named branches, is given a total length of 837 kilometres; this article ranks the 837-kilometre project total and labels the 650-kilometre feeder-and-main figure [5]. Guinness World Records names the White Sea-Baltic Canal, at 227 kilometres, as the "longest canal," on a definition that also notes only 37 kilometres of that route are man-made cuts; that official title is a different measure and is not used here as a silent length ranking of all irrigation and transfer canals [6].
Key Facts
The ten below are the labelled published-length leaders: the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, 1,794 kilometres official main line; the South-to-North middle route, 1,432 kilometres; the Karakum Canal, 1,375 kilometres; the Indira Gandhi Canal, 837 kilometres project total; the California Aqueduct, 444 miles, about 715 kilometres, labelled as an open aqueduct; the Erie Canal, 351 miles, about 565 kilometres; the Central Arizona Project, 336 miles, about 541 kilometres, labelled as a canal aqueduct; the Narmada Main Canal, about 532 kilometres including the official 458.318-kilometre Gujarat length plus 74 kilometres in Rajasthan; the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal, 451 kilometres; and the Ganges Canal, 437 kilometres [1][3][4][5][7][8][9][10]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official named-canal main-line length, which is also the only entry in the ten above 1,700 kilometres on that official measure.
The Suez Canal, at about 193 kilometres, and the White Sea-Baltic Canal, at 227 kilometres, are famous navigable waterways that sit outside this length ten and are not added as silent extra ranks [6]. An unfinished scheme such as the Jonglei Canal is excluded. The table is the official spine: a named waterway, a labelled kilometre or mile figure, and no unofficial Guinness substitution is smuggled in as the length ranking itself.
Longest Canals at a Glance
| Rank | Canal | Length | Type | 2026 note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal | 1,794 km official main line | Historic navigation trunk | Some pages give 1,776 km; UNESCO historic system more than 2,000 km |
| 2 | South-to-North middle route | 1,432 km | Water-transfer canal | Official first-stage middle-route length |
| 3 | Karakum Canal | 1,375 km | Irrigation and supply; largely navigable | Official published length, Amu-Darya toward western Turkmenistan |
| 4 | Indira Gandhi Canal | 837 km project total | Irrigation | Feeder and main line about 650 km, labelled separately |
| 5 | California Aqueduct | 444 miles, about 715 km | Open aqueduct | Official mile length, labelled as an aqueduct rather than a ship canal |
| 6 | Erie Canal | 351 miles, about 565 km | Navigation canal | Official published modern length |
| 7 | Central Arizona Project | 336 miles, about 541 km | Canal aqueduct | Official length, Lake Havasu City to Tucson |
| 8 | Narmada Main Canal | About 532 km | Irrigation | Official 458.318 km in Gujarat plus 74 km in Rajasthan |
| 9 | Irtysh-Karaganda Canal | 451 km | Irrigation and supply | Official published length |
| 10 | Ganges Canal | 437 km | Irrigation and navigation | A nineteenth-century named canal, not a river length |
1. Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has an official main-line length of 1,794 kilometres in the account of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while some official and encyclopedia pages give 1,776 kilometres, and UNESCO describes the historic system as more than 2,000 kilometres of artificial waterways by the thirteenth century [1][2]. This article records the official 1,794-kilometre main-line figure as the ranking length and labels the other two measures. The canal is a historic navigation trunk, still in use, and not a modern water-transfer project under another name.
It is first as the outstanding official named-canal main-line length, a labelled 1,794-kilometre fact, and the documentary centre of this ten [1][2]. A later official main-line revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
The official Ministry of Culture and Tourism length, with the 1,776-kilometre alternative and the UNESCO historic-system figure, is the source [1][2].
2. South-to-North middle route
The first-stage middle route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project is an official water-transfer canal of 1,432 kilometres [3]. The figure is the official main-canal length of that named route, not a total of all three official transfer routes, and not a silent addition to the Grand Canal. This article records the official 1,432 kilometres. It is a transfer canal, not a historic navigation trunk.
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It is second as the outstanding official 1,432-kilometre water-transfer canal, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Grand Canal and the Karakum Canal [3]. A later official revision of the route length will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official Chinese project accounts of the middle route are the source [3].
3. Karakum Canal
The Karakum Canal, also written Garagum, is 1,375 kilometres long, an irrigation and water-supply canal in Turkmenistan that takes water from the Amu-Darya and is navigable over much of that published length [4]. The figure is the standard published length of the named canal, not a planned extension to the Caspian Sea, and not a silent combination with the abandoned Main Turkmen Canal scheme. This article records the official 1,375 kilometres. The canal is also a documented factor in the Aral Sea's water loss, a fact this article notes without treating it as a length.
It is third as the outstanding official 1,375-kilometre irrigation canal, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the South-to-North middle route [4]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of the Karakum Canal are the source [4].
4. Indira Gandhi Canal
The Indira Gandhi Canal, formerly the Rajasthan Canal, has a commonly cited feeder-and-main length of about 650 kilometres, 204 kilometres of feeder plus 445 kilometres of main line, while the same official project, including later named branches, is given a total length of 837 kilometres [5]. This article ranks the 837-kilometre project total and labels the 650-kilometre feeder-and-main figure. The waterway is an irrigation canal from the Harike Barrage toward the Thar Desert, not a ship canal of Suez type.
It is fourth as the outstanding official 837-kilometre Indian irrigation project, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Karakum Canal [5]. A later official project-total revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
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Standard official descriptions of the Indira Gandhi Canal are the source [5].
5. California Aqueduct
The California Aqueduct is officially 444 miles long, about 715 kilometres, an open aqueduct of the State Water Project rather than a historic ship canal [7]. This article records the official mile length and the kilometre conversion, and it labels the work as an aqueduct so that it is not silently treated as a second Grand Canal. The figure is the official aqueduct length, not a total of every California irrigation ditch.
It is fifth as the outstanding official 444-mile open aqueduct, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Central Arizona Project [7]. A later official mile table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official and standard descriptions of the California Aqueduct are the source [7].
6. Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is commonly given as 351 miles long, about 565 kilometres, a named navigation canal across New York between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes [8]. The figure is the standard published modern length, not the nineteenth-century original of about 363 miles, and not the mileage of the whole New York State Canal System. This article records the 351-mile modern length and labels the older figure. It is a navigation canal, not an irrigation trunk.
It is sixth as the outstanding official 351-mile navigation canal, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the later aqueduct entries [8]. A later official mile table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of the Erie Canal are the source [8].
7. Central Arizona Project
The Central Arizona Project is officially 336 miles long, about 541 kilometres, a canal aqueduct from Lake Havasu City to Tucson [9]. The figure is the official project length published by the Central Arizona Project, not a silent combination with the Colorado River Aqueduct, and not a reservoir-storage volume presented as a length. This article records the official 336 miles and the kilometre conversion. It is labelled as a canal aqueduct.
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It is seventh as the outstanding official 336-mile canal aqueduct, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the California Aqueduct and to the Narmada Main Canal [9]. A later official mile table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official Central Arizona Project accounts are the source [9].
8. Narmada Main Canal
The Narmada Main Canal has an official length of 458.318 kilometres in Gujarat, to the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, and continues for 74 kilometres in Rajasthan, a labelled total of about 532 kilometres for the named main canal [10]. This article records both the official Gujarat figure and the labelled all-main-canal total. The waterway is an irrigation canal of the Sardar Sarovar project, not a navigation trunk, and not a total of every Narmada branch canal.
It is eighth as the outstanding official Narmada main-canal length, a labelled 532-kilometre-class fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Indira Gandhi Canal [10]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official Sardar Sarovar and related project accounts are the source [10].
9. Irtysh-Karaganda Canal
The Irtysh-Karaganda Canal is 451 kilometres long, an irrigation and water-supply canal in Kazakhstan [4][7]. The figure is the standard published length of the named canal, not a river length of the Irtysh, and not a silent combination with later transfer schemes. This article records the official 451 kilometres.
It is ninth as the outstanding official 451-kilometre irrigation canal, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Ganges Canal [4][7]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
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Standard official descriptions of the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal are the source [4][7].
10. Ganges Canal
The Ganges Canal is 437 kilometres long in a standard civil-engineering account of that named nineteenth-century canal, an irrigation and navigation work rather than a length of the Ganges itself [8]. The White Sea-Baltic Canal, at 227 kilometres, and the Suez Canal, at about 193 kilometres, sit outside this length ten and are famous navigable waterways rather than silent extra ranks [6]. This article records the 437-kilometre named-canal length.
It is tenth as the outstanding official 437-kilometre Ganges Canal, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal [8]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard civil-engineering descriptions of the Ganges Canal are the source [8].
Conclusion
A 2026 longest-canals list has to keep the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal at an official main-line 1,794 kilometres, label the 1,776-kilometre alternative and the UNESCO historic system of more than 2,000 kilometres, and refuse to treat the Guinness White Sea-Baltic title of 227 kilometres as if it were a length ranking of all irrigation and transfer canals [1][2][6]. The South-to-North middle route at 1,432 kilometres, the Karakum Canal at 1,375, the Indira Gandhi Canal at an 837-kilometre project total, the California Aqueduct, the Erie Canal, the Central Arizona Project, the Narmada Main Canal, the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal, and the Ganges Canal complete a named-waterway ten in which type and measure are stated in the open [3][4][5][7][8][9][10]. The useful habit is a named canal, a labelled kilometre or mile figure, and a refusal to mix an aqueduct, a transfer route, and a historic trunk as if they were one official product.
A later official length table will belong in a revision of a cell; it will not change the method. Those labelled waterway lengths are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later yearbook has restated a main-line or project-total figure in a later year.
- ^ [1] Official length of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal given by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 1,794 kilometres, with some official and encyclopedia pages giving 1,776 kilometres. Ministry of Culture and Tourism
- ^ [2] UNESCO World Heritage description of the Grand Canal as a historic system of more than 2,000 kilometres of artificial waterways by the thirteenth century. UNESCO
- ^ [3] Official Chinese project accounts of the first-stage middle route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, 1,432 kilometres. China South-to-North Water Diversion
- ^ [4] Standard published length of the Karakum Canal, 1,375 kilometres. Karakum Canal
- ^ [5] Standard official descriptions of the Indira Gandhi Canal: feeder and main line about 650 kilometres (204 plus 445), and a project total including later named branches of 837 kilometres. Indira Gandhi Canal
- ^ [6] Guinness World Records, longest canal: White Sea-Baltic Canal, 227 kilometres, of which 37 kilometres are man-made cuts, a different official definition from the length ranking used here. Guinness World Records
- ^ [7] Official and standard length of the California Aqueduct, 444 miles, about 715 kilometres, labelled as an open aqueduct.
- ^ [8] Standard published modern length of the Erie Canal, 351 miles, about 565 kilometres, and the 437-kilometre length of the named Ganges Canal in a standard civil-engineering account. Institution of Civil Engineers
- ^ [9] Official Central Arizona Project length, 336 miles, about 541 kilometres, from Lake Havasu City to Tucson. Central Arizona Project
- ^ [10] Official Sardar Sarovar accounts of the Narmada Main Canal: 458.318 kilometres in Gujarat plus 74 kilometres in Rajasthan, a labelled total of about 532 kilometres. Narmada Control Authority
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