About: Canal estate

A canal estate, canal development, waterway estate or marine suburb is a residential subdivision made up of canals and reclaimed land, such that many or all of the lots can incorporate a private mooring or boat ramp. Canal estates are typically constructed on floodplains or swampland in estuaries, providing ready access to larger waterways and the ocean. To build the estate, civil contractors will dredge parts of the site to create deep, navigable channels, and use the resulting fill to form islands and headlands above the flood level. The resulting street layout shows a distinctive 'finger' pattern.