St. Lawrence Seaway

Information about St. Lawrence Seaway

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The Eisenhower Locks in Massena, NY.
The St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal and the Great Lakes Waterway. The seaway is named after the Saint Lawrence River, which it follows from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean.

Route

The seaway begins at Montreal with the South Shore Canal (Saint-Lambert and Sainte-Catherine locks) bypassing the Lachine Rapids and replacing the historic Lachine Canal. Passing through Lake Saint-Louis, it then passes the Beauharnois power dam via the 2-lock Beauharnois Canal.

Beginning in the Saint Lawrence River, the seaway leaves Quebec through Lac Saint-François, passing through the Akwesasne Mohawk First Nation. At Cornwall and Massena, the river and seaway form an international waterway, with Ontario on the northern shore and New York State on the southern shore. Cornwall and Massena are joined by an international bridge over the St. Lawrence, the Seaway International Bridge, named for the seaway.

Between Cornwall and Massena, the seaway diverges south of the river, passing through New York's Wiley-Dondero Canal, containing the Snell and Eisenhower locks. This route bypasses the Moses-Saunders hydroelectric dam before passing through the short Iroquois Lock on the Canadian side of the river, permitting vessels to bypass the Iroquois water level control structure. West of the Iroquois Lock, the seaway follows the St. Lawrence River through the Thousand Islands and into Lake Ontario. Altogether there are seven locks in the Montreal–Lake Ontario section (five Canadian, two American).

The Welland Canal (eight locks) links Lake Ontario (surface elevation 74m) to Lake Erie (surface elevation 173m), bypassing the formidable barrier of Niagara Falls.

West of Lake Ontario in the Great Lakes Waterway the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan bypass the rapids on the St. Marys River, connecting Lake Superior (surface elevation 183m) with Lake Huron (surface elevation 176m). This short canal is operated toll-free by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,[1] not by the joint U.S.-Canada Saint Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. They are often not considered part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, although they are an integral part of the system.

Approval for American participation in the construction was finally granted in 1954, after repeated attempts in the United States Congress. The Senate bill introduced by Alexander Wiley (R-Wisc.) was passed on January 20, and a companion bill in the House of Representatives introduced by George Dondero (R-Mich.) was passed on May 6, with final signature by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 13.[1]

A principal factor in the American approval was the recognition of the need for economical access to the proven iron ore reserves in northern Quebec and Labrador, since deposits on the Mesabi Range in Minnesota were becoming rapidly depleted. Shipment of ore by Seaway was championed by George M. Humphrey, President of the M.A. Hanna Company and of the Iron Ore Company Of Canada in hearings before the House Committee on Public Works in 1950.

The seaway was first used on April 25, 1959, although it was not officially opened until June 26, 1959, by Queen Elizabeth II and President Eisenhower. At the time of its construction, the seaway project was considered by some to be the largest work of engineering of all time.

Consequences of Construction

To create a navigable channel through the Long Sault rapids and to allow hydroelectric stations to be established immediately upriver from Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, New York, an artificial lake had to be created. Called Lake St. Lawrence, it required the flooding on July 1, 1958 of ten villages in Ontario, now collectively known as "The Lost Villages". There was also inundation on the New York side, but no communities were affected.

The creation of the seaway also led to the introduction of foreign species of aquatic animals, including the sea lamprey and the zebra mussel, into the Great Lakes Basin. These organisms were introduced in the bilge water from oceanic vessels.

The seaway provides significant entertainment and recreation such as boating, camping, fishing, and scuba diving. Of particular note is that the seaway provides a number of divable wrecks within recreational scuba limits (shallower than 130 ft.). Surprisingly, the water temperature can be as warm as 70°F with little or no thermocline during the mid to late summer months.

Lock and channel dimensions

The size of vessels that can traverse the seaway is limited by the size of locks. Locks on the St Lawrence and on the Welland Canal are 766 feet (233.5 m) long, 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 30 feet (9.1 m) deep. The maximum allowed vessel size is slightly smaller: 740 feet (225.6 m) long, 78 feet (23.8 m) wide, and 26 feet (7.9 m) deep; many vessels designed for use on the Great Lakes following the opening of the seaway were built to the maximum size permissible by the locks, known informally as Seaway-Max. Large vessels of the lake freighter fleet are built on the Lakes and cannot travel down the seaway to the ocean. The only lock on the Great Lakes Waterway is 1,200 feet (357 m) long, 110 feet (33.5 m) wide and 32 feet (9.8 m) deep, but the channels are not kept that deep.

Water depth is another obstacle to vessels, particularly in connecting waterways such as the St Lawrence River. The depth in the channels of the seaway is 41 feet (12.5 m) downstream of Quebec City, 35 feet (10.7 m) between Quebec City and Deschaillons, 37 feet (11.3 m) to Montreal, and 28 feet (8.2 m ) upstream of Montreal. Channels in the Great Lakes Waterway are slightly shallower: 25 to 27 feet (7.62 to 8.2 m).

Channel depths and limited lock sizes mean that only 10% of ocean-going ships can traverse the entire seaway. Proposals to expand the seaway, dating from as early as the 1960s, have been rejected as too costly, and environmentally and economically unsound. Lower water levels in the Great Lakes have also posed problems for some vessels in recent years.

Earlier canals

In 1862, locks on the St Lawrence allowed transit of vessels 186 feet (57 m) long, 44½ feet (13.6 m) wide, and 9 feet (2.7 m) deep. The Welland Canal at this time allowed transit of vessels 142 feet (43 m) long, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide, and 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. These were generally too small to allow passage of larger ocean-going ships.

Notes

1. ^ As a Senator for Massachussetts, John F. Kennedy broke a twenty-year precedent of no support from that congressional delegation. He argued instead that the Seaway would greatly aid the industrial and commercial development of the Midwest and would not injure New England. [http:/wwww.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/JFK+Pre-Pres/002PREPRES12SPEECHES_54JAN14.htm]

References

  • Seaway Handbook issued by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, (Head Office, 202 Pitt Street, Cornwall, Ontario, Canada K6J 3P7) 2006.
  • Willoughby, William R. (1961). The St. Lawrence Waterway: A Study in Politics and Diplomacy. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press.  OCLC: 932877

External links

Canals are artificial channels for water.

There are two main types of canals: irrigation canals, which are used for the delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to (and sometimes
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Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres (41.1 million square miles), it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface.
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Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada–United States border. They are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system is the largest freshwater system in the world.
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Coordinates Coordinates:
Lake type Rift lake
Primary sources Nipigon River,
St.
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Ville de Montréal
City of Montreal

Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: 5-1-4, MTL, Heavy MTL, Mount Real, Real City
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Coordinates Coordinates:

Primary sources Detroit River

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Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 42 km (27.0 miles) from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the canal allows ships to avoid Niagara Falls by traversing the Niagara Escarpment.
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Great Lakes Waterway is a system of channels and canals that makes all of the Great Lakes accessible to oceangoing vessels. Its principal civil engineering components are the Welland Canal, bypassing Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the Soo Locks, bypassing the
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Origin Lake Ontario
Mouth Gulf of Saint Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries Canada (Ontario, Quebec)
United States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin)
Length 1,197 km (744 mi)
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Coordinates Coordinates:

Primary sources Niagara River

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Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres (41.1 million square miles), it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface.
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Ville de Montréal
City of Montreal

Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: 5-1-4, MTL, Heavy MTL, Mount Real, Real City
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The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine.
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The Lachine Canal (Canal Lachine in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, through the boroughs of Lachine and Le Sud-Ouest.
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Location southwestern Quebec

Primary sources Saint Lawrence River, Ottawa River

Basin countries Canada

For other uses of the name "Saint Louis", see .

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Beauharnois is a city located in southwestern Quebec, Canada.

According to the Canada 2006 Census:
  • Population: 11,918
  • % Change (2001-2006): 4.0
  • Dwellings: 5,257
  • Area (km²): 69.09
  • Density (persons per km²): 172.

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The Beauharnois Canal is a Canadian canal located in southwestern Quebec. The canal is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Located between the cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Beauharnois, the canal connects Lake Saint-Francis to the west (upstream) with Lake Saint-Louis
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Québec
Quebec [1]

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember)

Capital Quebec City
Largest city Montreal
Official languages French
Government
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Coordinates Coordinates:

Primary sources Saint Lawrence River

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Mohawk (Kanienkeh, Kanienkehaka or Kanien’Kahake, meaning "People of the Flint") are an indigenous people of North America originally from the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York to southern Quebec and eastern Ontario.
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Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall

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Location of Cornwall in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario
Coordinates:
Country Canada
Province Ontario
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There are two places named Massena in St. Lawrence County in the U.S. state of New York:
  • Massena (town), New York
  • Massena (village), New York, within the town of Massena


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Ontario


Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains)

Capital Toronto
Largest city Toronto
Official languages English (de facto)
Government
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State of New York

Flag of New York Seal
Nickname(s): The Empire State
Motto(s): Excelsior!

Official language(s) None

Capital Albany
Largest city New York City

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The former Seaway International Bridge, renamed the Three Nations Crossing in 2001, is a bridge over the St. Lawrence River in east-central North America. It is an international bridge, connecting the city of Cornwall, Ontario in Canada to Roosevelttown near the village of
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Iroquois is a community of 1,200 located on the Saint Lawrence Seaway between Brockville and Cornwall, Ontario, Canada just east of the Thousand Islands and an hour south of Ottawa. It was located in the former Dundas County, Ontario.
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Thousand Islands are a chain of islands that straddle the U.S.-Canada border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. The islands stretch for about 50 mi (80 km) downstream from Kingston, Ontario.
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Coordinates Coordinates:

Primary sources Niagara River

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Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 42 km (27.0 miles) from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the canal allows ships to avoid Niagara Falls by traversing the Niagara Escarpment.
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Coordinates Coordinates:

Primary sources Detroit River

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