Largest Lock in the USA - Sault Saint Marie - Michigan.
N 46° 30.131 W 084° 21.140
16T E 703148 N 5153252
Soo locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Waymark Code: WMG6AJ
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 01/19/2013
Views: 9
The size and scale of Soo Locks, which includes the largest lock in the USA, can not be appreciated from the visitor centre. The only way to understand how the locks are laid out is from an aeroplane or Satellite from space.
The Soo Locks area administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are the busiest locks in the world, during the summer months, being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. Soo Locks include the largest lock in the Western Hemisphere.
"The St. Marys River is the only water connection between Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and the other Great Lakes. There is a section of the river known as the St.Marys Rapids where the water falls about 21 feet from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. This natural barrier to navigation made necessary the construction of the locks project known as the St.Marys Falls Canal". Text Source: (
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks, but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 feet (7 m)." Text Source: (
visit link)