Homepage History Notable Michigan! The Great Lakes Michigan:
Sault Locks
History Native Americans Underground Railroad Mackinaw Locks
Locks Fast Facts on the Sault Locks
Called: the Soo Locks Busiest in the World: about 12,000 ships travel the locks a year. Closed During the winter months of January thru March Connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes Sault Locks (Soo)
The Soo locks transport ships between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. They are the busiest in the world with about 12,000 boats traveling the water way. Sault Ste. Marie is the city in whick the action of the locks takes place. The Soo locks has locks in both America and in Canada, though Canada only has one lock.
On the American side there are four locks in existance though only three are still in use today. The American locks include the Davis lock which was built in 1914 and is 1350 feet long. The Sabin lock was built in 1919 and also is 1350 feet long but isn't in use today. The McArthur lock was built in 1943 and is 800 feet long, this lock is large and can hold ships from the ocean and such vessels. The last lock is the Poe lock which was re-built in 1968, this lock is 1200 long and can handle the "large lakers" that the other locks can't hold. On the Canadian side there is only one lock. This lock was built in 1895. The lock broke down in 1987, rebuilt and reopended in 1998 for tourist purposes.
Sault Locks
Soo Locks in the 19th Century
Resources:
Links for future use:
This is the site from wikipedia, and gives great examples of what the locks are and easy to see picture.
This site is a tourist site but could be used to further establish the importance of the locks.
This site describes the locks and how they work.
Last updated on August 6, 2007
Created By Kristin Brothers