Where is soo locks

Unique vessels are occasionally sighted, including tall ships, sailboats, cruise ships, and military crafts. Take command of a comfortable benche for freighter watching or stroll the length and breadth of this beautiful green space. Illustrative displays and scheduled films tell the story of Native Americans, French explorers, fur traders and others who portaged canoes and cargo around the impassable rapids until the discovery of iron ore and copper in the Lake Superior basin led to the push for a more cost-efficient means of bypassing the rapids.

The helpful staff monitor radio transmissions and are willing to share news of an arriving freighter. Within a few years, commerce through the canal had grown to national importance, and the need for new locks became clear. The Corps has operated the locks, toll free, since that time. The opening of the canal, named the Michigan State Locks, but eventually called simply the Soo Locks, perfectly coincided with the increased demand for iron as railroads expanded westward.

Between and , the railroad network in the United States nearly quadrupled in size. The new locks expedited the shipment of much-needed iron ore to steel mills in the southern Great Lakes. In return, investment capital flowed north to the Lake Superior region, expanding mining operations and improving transportation arteries. Source: Unknown The first load of iron ore through the Soo Locks amounted to tons in August Total ore tonnage that year was 1, During the shipping season , tons of ore passed through the Soo Locks.

One century later the total volume of downbound iron recorded at the Soo exceeded million tons. The falls of the St. Mary's River, where today exist the Soo Locks seen above, are present because of a resistant sill layer of rock within the river channel. The map below shows that area of the river and its main islands in Although far from the European and Pacific theater, the Soo Locks played an important role during World War II, due to the large amounts of iron ore being transported on large barges through the locks.

The fear of a homeland attack in America grew as the war waged on, and with the growing importance of the Soo Locks and iron for the war effort, military protection of the Soo Locks was critical. The militarization of the Soo Locks was so large that Fort Brady-a military fort built in Sault Sainte Marie to guard against British invasion from Canada- was so full, there was no room to house all the military personnel. The military defense tactics were very extensive.

Defenses included land, air, and sea to protect the Soo Locks from foreign attacks. Air defenses including searchlights to patrol the sky were added, and defenses against possible torpedo attacks were put in place. During an order for construction of a new lock was put into place. This lock would allow larger barges to transport larger amounts of iron ore through the Soo Locks.

The new MacArthur lock was completed soon after orders in , allowing larger freighters to pass through. Due to the lessening threat to the Soo Locks by Axis powers during the war, military security was lessened in This material has been compiled for educational use only, and may not be reproduced without permission.

One copy may be printed for personal use. Please contact Randall Schaetzl soils msu. Postcard How do the locks and indeed, all locks work? The north gate remains closed, holding back the waters of Lake Superior. PAUL R. It took about 1 hour for the ship to enter the lock, and prepare to drop the 21' to the lower Great Lakes. The Paul R. Tregurtha is ' 6" overall, ' wide and just barely fits in the Poe Lock that is ' long and ' wide. She is the longest vessel on the Great Lakes and has held this honor since she was built in Tregurtha down the 21 feet to the level of the lower Great Lakes and moving out of the lock.

She is carrying iron ore taconite pellets. Her cargo capacity is 68, tons. Marys River. When the settlement of the Northwest Territory brought increased trade and large boats it became necessary to unload the boats haul the cargoes around the rapids in wagons and reload in other boats. In , the Northwest Fur Company constructed a navigation lock 38 feet long on the Canadian side of the river for small boats. This lock remained in use until destroyed in the War of Freighters and boats were again portaged around the rapids.

Congress passed an act in granting , acres of public land to the State of Michigan as compensation to the company that would build a lock permitting waterborne commerce between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes.

The Fairbanks Scale Company, which had extensive mining interests, in the upper peninsula, undertook this challenging construction project in