David Hartzheim, age 9, of Watertown, N.Y., for his question:
WHEN WAS THE SOO CANAL BUILT?
Located on the United States Canada border between Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., and Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, are the Soo Canals which allow ships to pass between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. They are also called the Sault Sainte Marie Canals. The first one was completed in 1798.
The Sault Sainte Marie River forms a natural connection between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The river contains rapids and even water falls in one section. Early trappers sometimes "ran the rapids" with their boats to cross from one lake to the other. However, they usually carried their canoes and furs around the rough water.
The Hudson Bay Company completed a canal with a single lock in 1798. It permitted canoes and flat bottomed boats to pass up the river. American troops destroyed the lock during the War of 1812.
After 1839, ships were moved around the rapids on large rollers. A railroad was built next to the river in 1850.
Increasing shipments of iron and copper during the late 1800s created a need for better transportation between the two lakes. A federal grant enabled Michigan to complete a canal with a lock in 1855. The U.S. government took over the canal's administration in 1881 and abolished tolls.
Today, the American canals are about a mile and three quarters long. Davis Lock, opened in 1914, and Sabin Lock, opened in 1919, are in the North Canal. The South Canal includes the MacArthur Lock, opened in 1943, and the Poe Lock, opened in 1969.
The Poe Lock, 110 feet wide, is the widest of the American canals. It replaced a smaller Poe Lock which was torn down in 1962.
Canada completed its canal in 1815 at a cost of almost $5 million. Until the large Davis Lock was built, the larger lake ships could only use the Canadian canal.
The Canadian canal is a bit over a mile long and it is 150 feet wide.
An International Bridge carries traffic across the Saint Mary's River between the two Sault Sainte Maries. It is two miles long and opened in 1962.
About 85 to 90 percent of the tonnage on the canals is eastbound. Iron ore and grain make up most of the eastbound cargo.
Coal, stone and oil are the chief products carried on the Soo Canals by westbound ships.
About 110 million tons of cargo pass through these canals annually. It is very interesting to note that the total tonnage currently being shipped through them is about four fifths as much as the cargo tonnage that is shipped through the Panama Canals.
Ice closes the Soo Canals from about the middle of November until early in April.