Erie Canal Locks

I grew up next to the Erie Canal.  It is a waterway that connects the Great Lakes with the Hudson River.  In effect, it is a direct waterway for boats to go from New York City / Atlantic Ocean to the Northern Mid-West states which before were blocked by Niagara Falls and a long trip up the St. Lawrence River.  It was a big deal back in the early 1800's when it was dug.

The town where I grew up didn't have any locks.  However in Lockport, as the name implies, has some locks.  Last week we stopped in Lockport and watched the locks in action.  In the picture below, you see the lock that is upstream and a boat has just finished being brought up and the doors are opening to let it out.



In the pictures below on the left, you can see the doors that are holding the upstream water in that lock from the downstream lock.  On the right, a boat has just entered the downstream lock and you can see the doors closing.



What happens next is that the upstream lock lets its water into the downstream lock until they are the same level.  At that point neither lock will be at the water height of the upstream nor downstream canal, but in between.  The boat moves into the upstream lock and the doors close behind it.  That is where we are at in the picture below on the left.  Then they let in water from upstream until it reaches the same level as the upstream canal, as in the picture below on the right.  Then they open the upstream doors and let the boat move on the canal upstream.



A different day we stopped by the locks in Palmyra, New York.  Here are some pictures of that lock:





For those interested in a little more info on the Erie Canal, here is a wiki page on it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal