	Locks
Home Page Overview History Towpath Locks Lock Houses Aqueducts Great Falls Recreation Wildlife Credits Tour
There are 74 lift locks along the 184 ½ mile canal. The locks are needed to raise the waterway from sea level to 605 feet in the Allegheny Mountains. At Great Falls, a working lock and lockkeepers house still exists. The lock measures 91 feet between two wooden gates, 15 feet wide, and 16 feet deep to provide an eight-foot lift. The lock was originally built with red Seneca sandstone; however, repairs with limestone, granite, concrete, and bricks are evident. A Park Service plaque presents a graphic depiction of the lock operation. For someone who still cannot program his VCR, I found a sense of accomplishment because I fully understood how a canal lock operates. During the spring and summer, canal boat trips travel through the lock. The rides, operated by costumed crew members, provide visual evidence of the slowness of canal transportation. Going through the lock takes about seven to ten minutes. Then two mules pull the boat along at a leisurely rate of four miles per hour.

Locks

Home Page Overview
History
Towpath
Locks
Lock Houses
Aqueducts
Great Falls
Recreation
Wildlife
Credits
Tour

There are 74 lift locks along the 184 ½ mile canal. The locks are needed to raise the waterway from sea level to 605 feet in the Allegheny Mountains. Lock at Great Falls At Great Falls, a working lock and lockkeepers house still exists. The lock measures 91 feet between two wooden gates, 15 feet wide, and 16 feet deep to provide an eight-foot lift.

The lock was originally built with red Seneca sandstone; however, repairs with limestone, granite, concrete, and bricks are evident. A Park Service plaque presents a graphic depiction of the lock operation. For someone who still cannot program his VCR, I found a sense of accomplishment because I fully understood how a canal lock operates.

During the spring and summer, canal boat trips travel through the lock. The rides, operated by costumed crew members, provide visual evidence of the slowness of canal transportation. Going through the lock takes about seven to ten minutes. Then two mules pull the boat along at a leisurely rate of four miles per hour.