丽都运河是建于19世纪初的一条伟大的运河，包含了丽都河和卡坦拉基河(Cataraqui)长达202公里的河段，北起渥太华，南接安大略湖金斯顿港。在英美两国争相控制这一区域之际，为战略军事目的开凿了这条运河。丽都运河是首批专为蒸汽船设计的运河之一，防御工事群是它的另一个特色。1826年，在运河建造初期，英国人采用“静水”技术，避免了大量挖掘工作，并建立了一连串的水库和47座大型水闸，将水位抬高到适航深度。这是北美保存最完好的静水运河，表明当时北美已大规模使用这项欧洲技术，是唯一一条始建于19世纪初北美大规模兴建运河时代，流经途径至今保持不变，且绝大多数原始构造完好无损的运河。运河上建有六座“碉堡”和一座要塞，后来又在多个闸站增建防御性闸门和管理员值班室。在1846至1848年期间，为加固金斯顿港口的防御工事建造了四个圆形石堡。丽都运河见证了为控制北美大陆发起的战争，具有重要的历史价值。

突出普遍价值英文

The Rideau Canal is a large strategic canal constructed for military purposes which played a crucial contributory role in allowing British forces to defend the colony of Canada against the United States of America, leading to the development of two distinct political and cultural entities in the north of the American continent, which can be seen as a significant stage in human history. Criterion (i): The Rideau Canal remains the best preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America demonstrating the use of European slackwater technology in North America on a large scale. It is the only canal dating from the great North American canal-building era of the early 19th century that remains operational along its original line with most of its original structures intact. Criterion (iv): The Rideau Canal is an extensive, well preserved and significant example of a canal which was used for a military purpose linked to a significant stage in human history - that of the fight to control the north of the American continent. The nominated property includes all the main elements of the original canal together with relevant later changes in the shape of watercourses, dams, bridges, fortifications, lock stations and related archaeological resources. The original plan of the canal, as well as the form of the channels, has remained intact. The Rideau Canal has fulfilled its original dynamic function as an operating waterway without interruption since its construction. Most of its lock gates and sluice valves are still operated by hand-powered winches. All the elements of the nominated area (canal, associated buildings and forts) are protected as national historic sites under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act 1952-3. A buffer zone has been established. Repairs and conservation of the locks, dams, canal walls and banks are carried out directly under the control of Parks Canada. Each year one third of the canal's assets are thoroughly inspected by engineers. A complete inventory thus exists of the state of conservation of all parts of the property. A Management Plan exists for the canal (completed in 1996 and updated in 2005), and plans are nearing completion for Fort Henry and the Kingston fortifications. The Canal Plan is underpinned by the Historic Canals Regulations which provide an enforcement mechanism for any activities that might impact on the cultural values of the monument.