Burritts Rapids Lock, Rideau Canal, Burritts Rapids, Ontario - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

Designed in the late 1820s as a safe commercial and military transportation corridor avoiding the United States frontier, the Rideau Canal is now a historic site, host to recreational boaters. Burritts Rapids Lock is officially lock 17 on the Rideau Canal. The elevation difference at lock 17 is 10.5 feet. The historical marker on site provides interesting descriptions.

This lock is a good example of how Colonel John By took advantage of the natural landscape to build a navigable waterway. The lock is at the foot of Oxford Snie, a dry ravine which acted as a flood channel. [Colonel] By made use of these flood channels, known as "snies" in several locations along the Rideau. It allowed the construction of the lock to be "in the dry", with the water flowing by in the original river channel. Only a small dam was needed at the bottom end of the lock to keep the water out during construction.

At the same time the lock was being constructed, By was also building a dam across the original river channel, near the head of the snie. When his lock was ready, the dam was raised to the required height, backing up the river water into the snie, providing the required water depth and creating the peaceful navigation channel we see today.

Waterway Name: Rideau Canal Connected Points: links Lake Ontario (Kingston) with the Ottawa River Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1830 Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/11/2022 Steigs101 visited it 09/26/2021 The Burrow visited it 09/04/2021 Casper&Aero visited it

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