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How wide and deep was the original Erie Canal?
Fast Facts
| JUST THE FACTS | |
|---|---|
| Number of locks, present day | 57 |
| Elevation change, Albany to Buffalo | 571 feet |
| Canal dimensions, 1825 Original Erie | 4 ft deep x 40 ft wide; locks 90 ft long |
| Canal dimensions, 1862 Enlarged Erie | 7 ft deep x 70 ft wide; lock 110 ft long |
How wide and long is the Erie Canal?
The original canal was 363 miles (584 km) long, from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The channel was cut 40 feet (12 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, with removed soil piled on the downhill side to form a walkway known as a towpath. To move earth, animals pulled a “slip scraper” (similar to a bulldozer).
How much were workers on the Erie Canal paid?
Wages were 50 cents to a dollar a day and the work in those first years was painfully slow. From 1818 to 1819, around three thousand men and 700 horses labored every day to dig the section of the Erie Canal from Utica to the Seneca River.
Who dug the Ohio Erie Canal?
Dug largely by Irish and German immigrants, this four-foot-deep ditch stretched 308 miles to Portsmouth on the Ohio River. By the fall of 1832, the canal promised passage from Cleveland to Cincinnati in 80 hours, a trip that had once taken weeks. The Moody and Thomas Mill in Peninsula.
How deep was the water in the Erie Canal?
At its center, the canal is 12 feet deep. Swimming is allowed within the 524-mile state canal system, but those who go in the water do so at their own risk. Can you sail from Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean?
How deep is the Erie Canal?
The original Erie Canal was just four feet deep and 40 feet wide, though it was considered a major engineering feat at the time of its completion in 1825.
What are the disadvantages of the Erie Canal?
A few of the disadvantages of the building of the Erie Canal were that it cost seven million dollars to complete. It was built as a commercial transportation route. Barges were towed by mules, up and down the canal. This facilitated westward expansion.
What cities are on the Erie Canal?
The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 confirmed New York’s position as the gateway to the lands being settled west of the Appalachians, and the cities on its route, including Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Utica, grew dramatically in the years following the opening of the canal.