Dutch Gap Canal

Dutch Gap Canal
The container ship Reykjafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal heading downstream from Richmond towards Hampton Roads.
The container ship Reykjafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal heading downstream from Richmond towards Hampton Roads.
Dutch Gap Canal is located in Virginia
Dutch Gap Canal
Location in Virginia
Dutch Gap Canal is located in the United States
Dutch Gap Canal
Dutch Gap Canal (the United States)
Coordinates: 37°22′38″N 77°21′31″W / 37.377230°N 77.358698°W / 37.377230; -77.358698
LocationChesterfield County, Virginia

Dutch Gap Canal is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia just north of the lost 17th-century town of Henricus. The canal's construction was initiated by Union forces during the American Civil War to bypass a meander loop of the river around a peninsula known as Farrar's Island that was controlled by Confederate artillery. The canal was completed after the war and is now the main channel of the James River in this area. Today, the area south of the canal is the location of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area and Henricus Historical Park.