478 The National Geographic Magazine 



with lock 900 feet long, 60 feet wide, 

 with 22 feet on the miter sills, was built 

 on the north side of the river during the 

 years 1888 to 1895. 



The number of vessels passing through 

 the United States canal in 1902 was 

 17,588, and through the Canadian canal 

 4,204. In 1900 the number of vessels 

 passing through the United States canal 

 was 16,144, an d through the Canadian 

 canal 3,003, showing an increase of 

 1,200 in the number of vessels passing 

 through the Canadian canal, and a 

 slight decrease in the number through 

 the United States canal, the increase in 

 the number passing through the Cana- 

 dian canal having been due to the devel- 

 opment of the Michipicoten district. 

 The tonnage passing through the United 

 States canal in 1902 was : Registered 

 tonnage, 27,408,021 tons; in 1901., 22,- 

 222,334 tons, against 20,136,782 in the 

 year 1900; the freight tonnage in 1901 

 was 25,026,522 tons, against 23,251,539 

 tons in 1900. The Canadian Canal 

 shows : Registered tonnage in 1902, 

 4>547«56i; in 1901, 2,404,642 tons, 

 against 2, 160,490 in 1900. A marked 

 contrast between the business of the St 

 Marys Falls and Welland canals is found 

 in a comparison of their figures for a 

 term of years. The number of vessels 

 passing through the Welland Canal in 

 1873 was 6,425, and in 1899, 2,202, a 

 reduction of more than one-half in the 

 number of vessels. The number of ves- 

 sels passing through the St Marys Falls 

 Canal in 1873 was 2,517, and in 1902, 

 through the American and Canadian 

 canals, 22,659. 



THE CHICAGO SANITARY AND SHIP 

 I m CANAL 



The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal 

 connects Lake Michigan at Chicago with 

 the Illinois River at Lockport, a distance 

 of 34 miles. The canal was cut for the 

 purpose of giving to the city of Chicago 

 proper drainage facilities by reversing 

 the movement of water, which formerly 



flowed into Lake Michigan through the 

 Chicago River, and turning a current 

 from Lake Michigan through the Chi- 

 cago River to the Illinois River at Lock- 

 port, and thence down the Illinois River 

 to the Mississippi. The minimum depth 

 of the canal is 22 feet, its width at the 

 bottom 160 feet, and the width at the 

 top from 162 to 290 feet, according to 

 the class of material through which it 

 is cut. The work was begun September 

 3, 1892, and completed and the water 

 turned into the channel January 2, 1900. 

 The flow of water from Lake Michigan 

 toward the Gulf is now at the rate of 

 360,000 cubic feet per minute, and the 

 channel is estimated to be capable of 

 carrying nearly twice that amount. The 

 total excavation in its construction in- 

 cluded 28,500,000 cubic yards of glacial 

 drift and 12,910,000 cubic yards of solid 

 rock, an aggregate of 41,410,000 cubic 

 yards. In addition to this, the construc- 

 tion of a new channel for the Desplaines 

 River became necessary in order to per- 

 mit the canal to follow the bed of that 

 river, and the material excavated in that 

 work amounted to 2 , 068 ,659 cubic yards, 

 making a grand total displacement in the 

 work of 43,478,659 cubic yards of ma- 

 terial, which, according to a statement 

 issued by the trustees of the sanitary 

 district of Chicago, would, if deposited 

 in Lake Michigan in 40 feet of water, 

 form an island one mile square with its 

 surface 12 feet above the water line. 



All bridges along the canal are mova- 

 ble structures. The total cost of con- 

 struction, including interest account, 

 aggregated $34,000,000, of which $21,- 

 379,675 was for excavation and about 

 $3,000,000 for rights of way and 

 $4,000,000 for building railroad and 

 highway bridges over the canal. The 

 city and state authorities, by whom the 

 canal was constructed, are now propos- 

 ing to Congress to make this canal a 

 commercial highway in case Congress 

 will increase the depth of the Illinois 

 and Mississippi rivers to a depth of 14 



