The Corp of Enginers, Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan allow Passage of vessels between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The first locks to allow passage through the Saint Mary rapids and allow vessels to drop 21' from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. were built in 1797 and operated until the war of 1812 when they were destroyed. In 1853 the locks were rebuilt by the Fairbanks Scale Company which had extensive mining interests in the upper penninsula. In the late 1800's due to increased vessel traffic it became clear that new locks would be needed. In 1881 the locks were transfered to the US Army Corp of engineers. The locks have remained under their control ever since. The latest lock was built in 1968 will handle a ship 1200' long and 110' wide carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. This lock is the largest in the western Hemisphere, yes larger than the Panama Canal locks. Looking at the picture below the two smaller locks on the right side are no longer in use. They will be replaced by a larger lock as the current lock is not large enough.
The first picture below the locks shows one of the largest ore carriers in service on the lake entering the lock very slowly. The next series of pictures is the local lock tour boat going through the smaller lock, while the ore carrier uses the larger lock. It was to cold a rainy to stick around and watch the ore carrier lock through.
Hello Tour Boat,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Going Down
And Down,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Goodby
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