Water Stairs: The Erie Canal and Its Locks

Water Stairs: The Erie Canal and Its Locks

1In the early 1800s, the United States was growing fast. Farmers west of the Appalachian Mountains grew plenty of wheat and corn, but getting those crops to cities in the East was hard. No railroads ran there yet. Wagons bumped slowly over rough dirt roads and steep hills, and shipping goods this way cost a great deal of money.

2Leaders in New York State had a bold plan. They would dig a canal, a waterway made by people, all the way across the state. It would connect the Hudson River to Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. Work began in 1817. Thousands of workers dug the canal mostly by hand with shovels and picks. In 1825, the Erie Canal was finished.

3The builders faced a big problem. The land across New York is not flat, and Lake Erie sits much higher than the Hudson River. The water in a canal lies flat, like a long, narrow pond, and boats cannot float uphill. The builders solved this problem with locks.

4A lock works like a giant step for boats. It is a long stone room, called a chamber, with heavy wooden gates at each end. The water on one side of a lock is higher than the water on the other side. By changing the water level inside the chamber, workers can raise or lower a boat.

5Here is how a lock lifts a boat that is heading west, toward the higher water. First, workers open the lower gates, and the boat floats into the chamber. Next, they close the lower gates behind it. Then they open valves, small doors that let water flow in from the higher part of the canal. As the chamber fills, the boat rises with the water. The upper gates stay shut until the water inside is level with the water ahead, because the higher water pushes hard against them. Finally, the workers open the upper gates, and the boat floats out.

6A boat heading east goes through the same steps in reverse. Workers let water drain out of the chamber, and the boat sinks gently to the lower level. No pumps are needed. Gravity does all the work, because water flows from a higher place to a lower one.

7The Erie Canal changed the country. Mules walked along a path beside the canal, called a towpath, and pulled the boats with long ropes. Shipping goods by canal boat was much faster and cheaper than shipping by wagon. With cheaper shipping, towns along the canal, such as Buffalo and Rochester, grew quickly, and New York City became the busiest port in the nation.