The Great Canals of the World 477 



begun in 1887 and completed, as above 

 indicated, in 1895. The length of the 

 canal is 61 miles, the terminus in the 

 Baltic Sea being at the harbor of Kiel. 

 The depth is 29^ feet, the width at the 

 bottom 72 feet, and the minimum width 

 at the surface 190 feet. The route lies 

 chiefly through marshes and shallow 

 lakes and along river valleys. The total 

 excavation amounted to about 100,000,- 

 000 cubic yards, and the cost to about 

 $40,000,000. The number of vessels 

 passing through the canal in 1904 was 

 32,038, with a tonnage of 4,990,287, 

 and the dues collected amounted to 

 about $580,000. 



SHIP CANALS CONNECTING THE GREAT 

 LAKES OF NORTH AMERICA 



Three ship canals intended to give 

 continuous passage to vessels from the 

 head of Lake Superior to Lake Ontario 

 and the St Lawrence River are the Wel- 

 land Canal, originally constructed in 

 1833 and enlarged in 1 87 1 and 1 900 ; the 

 St Marys Falls Canal at Sault Ste. 

 Marie, Mich., opened in 1855 and en- 

 larged in 1 88 1 and 1896, and the Cana- 

 dian Canal at St Marys River, opened in 

 1895. I n point of importance, measured 

 at least by their present use, the canals at 

 the St Marys River by far surpass that of 

 the Welland Canal, the number of ves- 

 sels passing through the canals at the St 

 Marys River being eight times as great 

 as the number passing through the Wel- 

 land, and the tonnage of the former 

 nearly forty times as great' as that of the 

 latter. One of the important products 

 of the Lake Superior region, iron ore, is 

 chiefly used in the section contiguous to 

 Lake Erie, and a large proportion of the 

 grain coming from Lake Superior passes 

 from Buffalo to the Atlantic coast by way 

 of the Erie Canal and railroads centering 

 at Buffalo. The most important article 

 in the westward shipments through the 

 Sault Ste. Marie canals, coal, originates 

 in the territory contiguous to Lake Erie. 

 These conditions largely account for the 



fact that the number and tonnage of 

 vessels passing the St Marys River ca- 

 nals so greatly exceed those of the Wel- 

 land Canal. 



The Welland Canal. — The Welland 

 Canal connects Lake Ontario and Lake 

 Erie on the Canadian side of the river. 

 It was constructed in 1833 and enlarged 

 in 1 87 1 and again in 1900. The length 

 of the canal is 27 miles, the number of 

 locks 25, the total rise of lockage 327 

 feet, and the total cost about $2 5, 000, 000. 

 The annual collection of tolls on freight, 

 passengers, and vessels averages about 

 $225,000 and the canal is open on an 

 average about two hundred and forty 

 days in a year. 



The Sault Ste. Marie Canals. — The 

 canals of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and 

 Ontario are located adjacent to the falls 

 of the St Marys River, which connect 

 Lake Superior with Lake Huron and 

 lower or raise vessels from one level to 

 the other a height of 17 to 20 feet. The 

 canal belonging to the United States was 

 begun in 1853 by tne state of Michigan 

 and opened in 1855, the length of the 

 canal being 5,674 feet, and provided 

 with two tandem locks, each being 350 

 feet in length and 70 feet wide and al- 

 lowing passage of vessels drawing 12 

 feet, the original cost being $1,000,000. 

 The United States government, by con- 

 sent of the state, began in 1870 to en- 

 large the canal, and by 1881 had in- 

 creased its length to 1.6 miles, its width 

 to an average of 160 feet, and its depth 

 to 16 feet; also had built a single lock 

 515 feet long and 80 feet wide, with a 

 depth of 17 feet on the sills, which was 

 located 100 feet south of the state locks. 

 The state relinquished all control of the 

 canal in March, 1882. In 1887 the state 

 locks were torn down and replaced by a 

 single lock 800 feet long, 100 feet wide, 

 and a depth of 22 feet of water on the 

 sills. This lock was put in commission 

 in 1 896 . The canal was also deepened to 

 25 feet. The Canadian Canal, i}4 miles 

 long, 150 feet wide, and 22 feet deep, 



