Editing Great Lakes Waterway

{{short description|System of channels and canals in the Great Lakes}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2015}}
[[Image:Soo Locks-Sault-Ste Marie.png|thumb|right|300px|The [[Soo Locks]] between [[Lake Superior]] and the [[St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)|St. Marys River]]]]

The '''Great Lakes Waterway''' ('''GLW''') is a system of natural channels and artificial [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]] and [[canal]]s that enable navigation between the North American [[Great Lakes]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-27|title=10 Largest Lakes In North America|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/lakes/10-largest-lakes-in-north-america.html|access-date=2021-11-06|website=WorldAtlas|language=en-US}}</ref> Although all of the lakes are naturally connected as a chain, water travel between the lakes was impeded for centuries by obstacles such as [[Niagara Falls]] and the rapids of the [[St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)|St. Marys River]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nix|first=Elizabeth|title=Are the Great Lakes connected?|url=https://www.history.com/news/are-the-great-lakes-connected|access-date=2021-11-06|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref>

Its principal [[civil engineering]] works are the [[Welland Canal]] between Lakes [[Lake Ontario|Ontario]] and [[Lake Erie|Erie]], and the [[Soo Locks]] between [[Lake Huron|Huron]] and [[Lake Superior|Superior]]. Dredged channels were constructed in the [[St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)|St. Marys River]], the [[Detroit River]], [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake St. Clair]] and the [[St. Clair River]] between Huron and Erie. Usually, one or more [[U.S. Coast Guard]] [[icebreaker]]s help keep the water passage open for part of the fall and early winter, although shipping usually ceases for two to three months thereafter. The [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] allows navigable shipping from the GLW to the Atlantic Ocean, while the [[Illinois Waterway]] extends commercial shipping to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The Great Lakes Waterway is co-administered by the governments of [[Canadian Government|Canada]] and the [[Government of the United States|United States]].

==Description==
[[File:Lower St. Marys shipping channels.jpg|thumb|The shipping channels pass on opposite sides of [[Neebish Island]] in the St Marys River]] 
The waterway allows passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the inland port of [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]] on Lake Superior, a distance of {{convert|2,340|miles|km}} and to [[Chicago]], on Lake Michigan, at {{convert|2,250|miles|km}}.<ref>[http://www.boatnerd.com/facts-figures/cpgreat.htm The Great Lakes], [[boatnerd.com]]</ref> The elevation change from Lake Superior to sea level is {{convert|601|ft}}.

Together with the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]], the Waterway accommodates both ocean-going vessels and ore, grain, and coal-bearing [[lake freighter]]s that travel from [[Gulf of St. Lawrence|the system's saltwater outlet]] to its [[Lake Superior|far interior]]. The Waterway has larger [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] and deeper [[Draft (hull)|drafts]] than the lower Seaway, limiting large freighters to the four lakes upstream of the Welland Canal and Lake Ontario and similarly restricting passage beyond [[Saint Lambert, Quebec]] by larger ocean vessels. The two waterways are often jointly and simply referred to as the "St. Lawrence Seaway", since the Great Lakes, together with the [[St. Lawrence River]], comprise a single navigable body of [[freshwater]] linking the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the continental interior. Major ports on the Great Lakes Waterway include [[Twin Ports|Duluth-Superior]], Chicago, Detroit, [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]], Cleveland, [[Two Harbors, Minnesota|Two Harbors]], [[Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority|Hamilton]] and [[Thunder Bay Port Authority|Thunder Bay]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Great Lakes {{!}} Names, Map, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Lakes|access-date=2021-11-06|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

Shipping channels separate upbound traffic from downbound traffic. The upbound direction is away from the St. Lawrence River (westerly or northerly except in Lake Michigan where upbound is southerly). Channels are marked with navigation buoys in constricted areas and pilots are required on foreign boats. Recreational boats can use or cross the ship channels, but the large boats, with limited maneuverability, have right of way.

==Map==
Map of the North American Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway based on a document from 1959, depicting the entire length beginning at the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the east to the westernmost terminus at Lake Superior.  {{clear}}
[[File: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway map 1959.png|900px|center]]

==See also==
{{portal|Lakes}}
* [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]]
* [[Straits of Mackinac]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thegreatwaterway.com The Great Waterway], South Ontario tourism site

{{Greatlakes|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Great Lakes Waterway| ]]
[[Category:Waterways in the United States]]