The locks on the Erie Canal
Lockport, New York

The locks on the Erie Canal

The Niagara Falls provided an insurmountable barrier to navigation between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Built to overcome the 66 feet of difference between the lake levels, these locks made navigation possible by way of the Erie Canal.


The locks on the Erie Canal

Lockport was founded in 1821, and grew around the series of double locks that are now a part of the state Barge Canal system. The canal provided relatively cheap transportation to the east coast for goods produced in Niagara Falls.


The locks on the Erie Canal

Photos by Owen Tyler — October 1990

Modern freighters are much too large to use the canal, but as long as they're not too tall to pass under the bridges, most pleasure boats are just the right size to use the canal to get around the nearby Niagara falls.

Click here to learn a little of the history of Lockport and the locks, and the Erie Canal.


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Page last updated November 9, 2001.