Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Green's Great Lakes Directory, 1949, p. 494

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A FEW HISTORICAL FACTS AND THE CANALS--Continued Rapide Plat Canal FEISTIC Length, 3% miles; 2 locks; total lift, 1142 feet. Locks are 270 and 285 feet long and 45 feet wide. This canal extends from Morris- burg to Flaggs bay and overcomes the rapids at that place. Descend- ing vessels run the rapids. Galops Canal Length 7 1/3 miles; 3 locks; total lift, 15% feet. This lock is 800 feet long and 50 feet wide. This canal overcomes the rapids at Point Iroquois, Point Cardinal and the Galops. CHICAGO TO THE MISSISSIPPI > Via the Illinois Canal and the Illinois River Distance from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river is 327 miles, as follows: 7 miles in the Chicago river, 30 miles to Lockport in the Chicago Sanitary Canal and then through the Illinois canal, and 290 miles in the Illinois river to Grafton. The Illinois canal commences in the South Branch of the Chi- cago river. There are 7 lift locks 600'x110'x12'3". The canal is 160 to 200 feet wide at the water surface. The deepest draft that can now be carried through is 12 feet. GREEN BAY TO THE MISSISSIPPI Via the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers Distance from Green Bay to the Mississippi, 281 miles. From Green Bay to Portage, on the Wisconsin river, 163 miles. A draft of about 6 feet can be carried. From there to the Mississippi the navigation of the Wisconsin river is very difficult and the available channel is less than 3 feet. But the navigation from Green Bay to Menasha, Oskosh and to Portage City is good. The total lift is about 200 feet, overcome by 26 locks, suitable for boats 140 feet long, 34 feet beam and over 6 feet draft. THE OSWEGO CANAL This canal is 24 miles long from Oswego to Three Rivers and has a capacity for boats 300 feet long, 40 feet beam and 9 feet draft. Connects Oswego with Syracuse and leads into the main line of the Erie canal for Troy and New York City. It has a lift of 119 feet and 7 locks. MURRAY CANAL, ONT. Connects the Bay of Quinte with Presque Isle Bay. Length 6% miles. No locks. It is 80 feet wide at bottom, 120 feet at water sur- face, and 11 feet deep at low stage of water. Tolls are collected. RIDEAU CANAL, ONT. Connects the Ottawa river at the city of Ottawa with the eastern end of Lake Ontario at Kingston. Length of navigation waters, 126 miles. Number of locks going from Ottawa to Kingston, 35 ascending, 14 descending, making a total of 49 locks. Going from Ottawa, the lift is 282 feet, then a drop of 164 feet. Length of locks 134 feet, width 33 feet, depth 5 feet. The depth of the canal is 4% feet. THE OHIO STATE CANAL The Ohio canal, which connects with the Cuyahoga river 4% miles above the lake, no longer affords an outlet to the Ohio river. It is navigable, however, for boats 90 feet long by 14 feet wide, draw- ing 4 feet or less, to Newcastle, Ohio, 97 miles from Cleveland. Originally this canal connected Lake Erie with the Ohio river, with Cleveland at one end and Portsmouth at the other end. The length was 309 miles. There were 144 locks, each with a length of 90 feet and a width of 14 feet and a depth of 4 feet. This canal is now filled in at various sections. 494

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