The
New York State Canal System (formerly known as the
New York State Barge Canal) is a successor to the
Erie CanalThe Erie Canal is a man-made waterway in New York that runs about 363 miles from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes...
and other
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
s within
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Currently, the 525-mile (845 km) system is composed of the Erie Canal, the
Oswego CanalThe Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers to Lake Ontario at Oswego...
, the
Cayuga-Seneca CanalThe Cayuga-Seneca Canal is a canal in New York, USA. 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:...
, and the
Champlain CanalThe Champlain Canal is a 60-mile canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
.
The Erie Canal connects the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...
to
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
; the Cayuga-Seneca Canal connects Seneca Lake and
Cayuga LakeCayuga Lake is the longest of western New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the largest in surface area and second largest in volume . It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is 3.5 miles wide at its widest point near Aurora...
to the Erie Canal; the Oswego Canal connects the Erie Canal to
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
; and the Champlain Canal connects the Hudson River to
Lake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada – United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
.
In 1903 New York State legislature authorized construction of the "New York State Barge Canal" as the "Improvement of the Erie, the
OswegoThe Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers to Lake Ontario at Oswego...
, the
ChamplainThe Champlain Canal is a 60-mile canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
and the Cayuga and Seneca Canals".
In 1905, construction of the Barge Canal began, which was completed in 1918, at a cost of $96.7 million.
The Barge Canal's new route took advantage of rivers (such as the
Mohawk RiverThe Mohawk River is a long river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital Region, a few miles north of the city of Albany, New York. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
,
Oswego RiverThe Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario...
,
Seneca RiverSeneca River may refer to:*Seneca River *Seneca River...
,
Genesee RiverThe Genesee River's name is derived from the Seneca tribe word meaning a beautiful open valley, good valley or pleasant valley...
and Clyde River) that the original Erie Canal builders had avoided, thus bypassing some major cities formerly on the route, such as
Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
.
The
New York State Canal System (formerly known as the
New York State Barge Canal) is a successor to the
Erie CanalThe Erie Canal is a man-made waterway in New York that runs about 363 miles from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes...
and other
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
s within
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Currently, the 525-mile (845 km) system is composed of the Erie Canal, the
Oswego CanalThe Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers to Lake Ontario at Oswego...
, the
Cayuga-Seneca CanalThe Cayuga-Seneca Canal is a canal in New York, USA. 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:...
, and the
Champlain CanalThe Champlain Canal is a 60-mile canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
.
The Erie Canal connects the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...
to
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
; the Cayuga-Seneca Canal connects Seneca Lake and
Cayuga LakeCayuga Lake is the longest of western New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the largest in surface area and second largest in volume . It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is 3.5 miles wide at its widest point near Aurora...
to the Erie Canal; the Oswego Canal connects the Erie Canal to
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
; and the Champlain Canal connects the Hudson River to
Lake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada – United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
.
History
In 1903 New York State legislature authorized construction of the "New York State Barge Canal" as the "Improvement of the Erie, the
OswegoThe Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers to Lake Ontario at Oswego...
, the
ChamplainThe Champlain Canal is a 60-mile canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
and the Cayuga and Seneca Canals".
In 1905, construction of the Barge Canal began, which was completed in 1918, at a cost of $96.7 million.
The Barge Canal's new route took advantage of rivers (such as the
Mohawk RiverThe Mohawk River is a long river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital Region, a few miles north of the city of Albany, New York. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
,
Oswego RiverThe Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario...
,
Seneca RiverSeneca River may refer to:*Seneca River *Seneca River...
,
Genesee RiverThe Genesee River's name is derived from the Seneca tribe word meaning a beautiful open valley, good valley or pleasant valley...
and Clyde River) that the original Erie Canal builders had avoided, thus bypassing some major cities formerly on the route, such as
Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
. However, particularly in western New York State, the canal system uses the same (enlarged) channel as the original Erie Canal.
Since the 1970s, the state has ceased modernizing the system due to the shift to truck transport. The canal is preserved primarily for historical and recreational purposes. Today, very few commercial vessels use the canal; it is mainly used by private pleasure boats, although it also serves as a supply of fresh water and as a method of controlling floods.
Since 1992, the Barge Canal is no longer known by that name. Individual canals in the New York State Canal System, formerly collectively known as "the Barge Canal," are now referred to by their original names (Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and Champlain Canal). Today, the system's canals are 12 feet (4 m) deep, 120 feet wide, with 57 electrically operated locks, and can accommodate vessels up to 2000 tons (1800 metric tons). The canal system is open for navigation generally from early May through mid-October, with opening and closing dates dependent on weather conditions and water levels.
Financial support of the canal system is from tolls collected on the
New York State ThruwayThe New York State Thruway is a limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of New York...
; since 1992, it is operated by the Thruway Authority's Canal Recreationway Commission. The application of tolls to support the canal and other non-thruway projects is a matter of controversy. Usage fees for boaters were eliminated in 2006.
In 2004, the
New York State Canal CorporationThe New York State Canal Corporation is a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority. It is responsible for the oversight, administration and maintenance of the New York State Canal System, which consists of the Erie Canal, Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Oswego Canal and Champlain Canal...
reported a total of 122,034 recreational lockings on the canal, along with 8,514 tour boat lockings and 7,369 hire boat lockings, and a total of 12,182 tons of cargo valued at approximately $102 million was shipped on the canal system.
Travel on the Canal's middle section (particularly in the Mohawk River valley) was severely hampered during destructive flooding in Upstate New York in late June and early July 2006. Flood damage to the canal system and its facilities was estimated to be at least $15 million. The 2007 boating season on the canal was cut short by a week due to water shortages at Hinckley Reservoir in
Oneida CountyOneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 235,469. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....
, one of the canal's main feeder sources.
See also
External links