A peat canal is a dug waterway that was constructed to transport peat from the extraction site, a peat area, to the outlet: a city. The peat was transported with a peat ship or peat barge. The word peat canal therefore refers to the traffic caused by the peat ships.
Apart from that, the Turfvaart is also a specific name for one specific peat canal. The Turfvaart is a waterway of approximately 25 km in length that runs via the Pannenhoef and Vloeiweide nature reserves along Effen to Breda, where it flows into the Aa or Weerijs.
Around the year 1400, peat was dug south of Breda to extract peat. Four brewers from Breda took the initiative to dig the Turfvaart in 1618. They needed fuel to brew their beer. The Turfvaart was then 12.3 kilometers long and ended in the Aa or Weerijs just below the Krabbenbossen. This branch is now connected to the Bijloop and still exists. On 20 November 1618 the first peat arrived in Breda. The ships were decorated with flags, trumpets were blown and the large bell of the church was rung. Thousands of people came to watch. Because the Aa or Weerijs was difficult to navigate, the Turfvaart was extended directly to Princenhage 30 years later. In 1743 all the peat had been dug up except for a small piece in the Matjens nature reserve. That is still there today.