The Champlain 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 f ...

in New York that connects the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

to the south end of

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...

. It was simultaneously constructed with 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 ...

for use by commercial vessels, fully opening in 1823. Today, it is mostly used by recreational boaters as part of the New York State Canal System and

Lakes to Locks Passage The American Lakes to Locks Passage and the corresponding Canadian is a scenic byway in northeastern New York in the United States and in southern Quebec in Canada. The byway unifies the interconnected waterway of the upper Hudson River, Champla ...

History

An early proposal made in the 1790s by Marc Isambard Brunel for a Hudson River–Lake Champlain canal was not approved. Another proposal for the canal was made in 1812 and construction authorized in 1817. By 1818, were completed, and in 1819 the canal was opened from Fort Edward to Lake Champlain. The canal was officially opened on September 10, 1823. It was an immediate financial success, and carried substantial commercial traffic until the 1970s. In 1903, New York authorized the expansion of the Champlain Canal—along with the Erie, Oswego, and

Cayuga–Seneca Canal The Cayuga–Seneca Canal is a canal in New York, United States. It is now part of the New York State Canal System. The Cayuga–Seneca Canal connects the Erie Canal to Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake. It is approximately long. History The S ...

s—into the " New York State Barge Canal." The project broke ground in 1905 and was completed in 1918. The "Barge Canal" name fell out of use in 1992. The abandoned Lake Champlain Seaway proposal would have upgraded the Champlain Canal into a ship canal, easing marine transport between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Route

The Champlain Canal begins about north of the locks at the Troy Federal Dam, at the point where the

splits from the

. The canal follows the Hudson River north for approximately , with six locks providing navigation around dams on the Hudson River, until it reaches lock C-7 in

Fort Edward, New York Fort Edward is a town and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. The population was 10,205 at the 2011 census. The municipal center complex is on U.S. Route 4 between the villages of Hudson Falls and Fort Edward.

. At this point, the canal follows a constructed channel for approximately , with five additional locks, bringing the canal to the southern end of

at Whitehall, New York. The elevation on the Hudson River portion increases from above sea level at the southern end, on the northern end of the locks at the Troy Federal Dam, to about above sea level at lock C-7, where the canal leaves the Hudson River. The elevation of the constructed portion reaches a peak of above sea level between locks C-9 and C-11, then declines to the level of Lake Champlain, between above sea level, at Whitehall. By traveling the length of Lake Champlain, boaters can access the Richelieu River and Chambly Canal, which connect Lake Champlain to the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Locks

The following list of locks is provided for the current canal, from south to north. There are a total of 11 locks on the Champlain 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. There is no Lock C10 on the Champlain Canal. The Troy Federal Lock, located just north of

Troy, New York Troy is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Huds ...

, is not part of the New York State Canal System proper; it is operated by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The Champlain Canal officially begins at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers at

Waterford, New York Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 8,423 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town is located in the southeast corner of Sa ...

. Distance is based on position markers from an interactive canal map provided online by the New York State Canal Corporation 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.'' * Denotes Federal managed locks. Lake Champlain has a mean surface elevation ranging between 95 feet (29 m) and 100 feet (30.5 m).

References

External links

Information and Boater's Guide to the New York State Canal System
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070207121333/http://www.nyscanals.gov/maps/map7.html New York State Canals—Map of the Champlain Canalbr>Champlain Canal Net—History and PhotographsHistoric Glens Falls Feeder Canal
* * * (replaced) * {{Authority control Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Canals in New York (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state) Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Bridges in Rensselaer County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Saratoga County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Washington County, New York Tributaries of the Hudson River Canals opened in 1823 National Register of Historic Places in Rensselaer County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Saratoga County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, New York 1823 establishments in New York (state)