Welland Canal

The Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 43.4 km (27.0 mi) from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, it allows ships to avoid Niagara Falls by traversing the Niagara Escarpment.

Related Topics:
Ship canal - Port Colborne, Ontario - Lake Erie - Port Weller, Ontario - Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence Seaway - Niagara Falls - Niagara Escarpment

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Approximately 40,000,000 metric tonnes of cargo is carried through the Welland Canal annually by over 3,000 ocean and lake vessels. It was a major factor in the growth of the city of Montreal. The original canal and its successors allowed goods from Detroit, Michigan, Cleveland, Ohio and other heavily industrialized areas of the United States and Ontario to be shipped to the port of Montreal where they were reloaded onto ocean-going vessels for international shipping.

Related Topics:
Metric tonne - Montreal - Detroit, Michigan - Cleveland, Ohio - United States - Ontario

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The completion of the Welland Canal made the Trent-Severn Waterway (which links Lake Ontario with Lake Huron) all but obsolete as a commercial traffic route for Great Lakes navagation.

Related Topics:
Trent-Severn Waterway - Lake Ontario - Lake Huron

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The Port Weller (east, compass north, at Lake Ontario) end of the canal is 99.5 m (326.5 ft) lower than the Port Colborne (west, compass south, on Lake Erie) end. There are eight locks, each 24.4 m (80 ft) by 233.5 m (766 ft). Due to the Garden City Skyway, the maximum ship height allowed is 35.5 m (116.5 ft) (all other crossings are lift bridges or tunnels). Maximum length is 225.5 m (740 ft), and it takes an average of 11 hours to travel between the two ends.

Related Topics:
Lake Ontario - Lake Erie - Garden City Skyway - Lift bridge - Tunnel

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