The Oswego Canal is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

in the

New York State Canal System The New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal) is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York. Currently, the system is composed of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, the Cayuga–Seneca Cana ...

located in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles (38.1 km) in length, and connects the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

at Three Rivers (near

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

) to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

at Oswego. The canal has a depth of 14 ft (4.2 m), with seven

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

spanning the 118 ft (36 m) change in elevation. The modern canal essentially follows the route of the Oswego River, canalized with locks & dams. Three locks, with a total lift of 45.6 feet (13.9m) take boats over what had been a steep set of rapids at the city of Oswego. This is the only route from the Atlantic/Hudson River system to Lake Ontario fully within the United States.

Volume of shipping

In 2013 ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

'' station ''

WRVO WRVO Public Media is a non-profit public radio network in Oswego, New York licensed to the State University of New York at Oswego, operating from studios in the Penfield Library on the SUNY Oswego campus. Its multi-station network serves more than ...

'' reported that the volume of shipping had been increasing, for several years, averaging about 80-120 vessels, per year. It attributed the increase to change in neighboring

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's protection for shipping grain grown in Canada.

Locks

The following list of

is provided for the current canal, from south to north. There are a total of 7 locks on the Oswego Canal. All locks on the New York State Canal System are single-chamber; the dimensions are 328 feet (100 m) long and 45 feet (13.7 m) wide with a minimum 12-foot (3.7 m) depth of water over the miter sills at the upstream gates upon lift. They can accommodate a vessel up to 300 feet (91 m) long and 43.5 feet (13.3 m) wide.New York State Canal Corporation – Canal Map, New York State Canals
Retrieved Jan. 26, 2015.
Retrieved Jan. 26, 2015.
Retrieved Jan, 26, 2015. Overall sidewall height will vary by lock, ranging between 28 feet (8.5 m) and 61 feet (18.6 m) depending on the lift and navigable stages.
Retrieved Jan. 28, 2015. ''Note:'' There is no Lock O4 on the Oswego Canal. The Oswego Canal officially begins at the "Three Rivers" confluence of the

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

and Oswego rivers near

Phoenix, New York Phoenix is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,382 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from Alexander Phoenix. The village of Phoenix lies in the Lake Ontario lake-effect snow belt, with seasonal snow ...

. Lock O8 in Oswego was originally installed as a "siphon lock", which required air valves to push water in and out of the lock. It initially had issues holding a vacuum in the tank until a pump was added in 1943. The lock was converted to electrical culvert valves consistent with others on the New York State Canal System in 1968.NY Canals – Lock O8
Retrieved Feb. 3, 2015.NY Canals – Siphon Lock Diagram
Retrieved Feb. 3, 2015. Distance is based on position markers from an interactive canal map provided online by the

New York State Canal Corporation New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and may not exactly match specifications on signs posted along the canal. Mean surface elevations are comprised from a combination of older canal profiles and history books as well as specifications on signs posted along the canal.Wilfred H. Schoff, ''The New York State Barge Canal'', 1915, American Geographical Society, Vol. 47, No. 7, page 498
Retrieved Jan. 26, 2015.The Erie Canal – Canal Profiles
Retrieved Jan. 6, 2015. The margin of error should normally be within 6 inches (15.2 cm). ''All surface elevations are approximate.'' ''Note:'' The mean surface elevation of Lake Ontario is 243 feet (74 m).

References

*''Recreational Chart 14786 New York State Barge Canal System, 12th Edition'', Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Commerce, May 23, 1998. * Janet Larkin, "The Oswego Canal : A Connecting Link Between the United States and Canada, 1819-1837," ''Ontario History'', CIII (Spring 2011), 23-41.

External links

Information and Boater's Guide to the Oswego Canal

* {{coord, 43, 21, 12, N, 76, 25, 45, W, display=title Canals in New York (state) Transportation in Onondaga County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Oswego County, New York Tourist attractions in Onondaga County, New York Tourist attractions in Oswego County, New York Oswego, New York Canals opened in 1828 1828 establishments in New York (state)