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Aerial view of the Soo Locks. View is to the east, with Canada on the left and the United States on the right.

A Soo Lock vacant of ships

The first Soo Locks in the 19th century

The Sault Locks (usually called the Soo Locks) allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks are the busiest in the world, passing an average of 12,000 ships ("boats" in Great Lakes parlance) per year. This is achieved in spite of the locks being closed during the winter months, January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter months are used to inspect and maintain the locks.

The locks bypass the rapids of the St. Marys River where the water falls 7 meters (21 feet) from Lake Superior. Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Ma-ree) gives its name to both the Canadian and American cities at the site, in Ontario and Michigan, respectively. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks.

The American locks form part of a 1.6 mile (2.6 km) canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Ship Canal. They are owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The first American locks were completed in May 1855.

• Davis Lock was built in 1914. It is 411 meters (1350 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 7 meters (23.1 feet) deep. The Davis lock is used rather infrequently to lock light freighters, tour boats, and small craft when traffic warrants. SS James A Farrell was the first vessel to lock through.

• Sabin Lock was built in 1919. It is 1350 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 23.1 feet deep. This lock is decommisioned and no longer used.

• MacArthur Lock was built in 1943. It is 244 meters (800 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 9 meters (31 feet) deep. This is large enough to handle ocean going vessels that must first pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. First vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley.

• Poe Lock was re-built in 1968, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway had opened. It is 366 meters (1200 feet) long, 34 meters (110 feet) wide and 10 meters (32 feet) deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lakers used on the upper lakes.

There is a project, as yet unfunded, to built a new large lock to replace the Davis and Sabin locks.

On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the American Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House.[1] Visitors are able to get close enough to the ships passing through the two operating locks to touch them.

Canadian lock, the only lock on the Ontario side, was built in 1895. It broke down in 1987 and a new lock was built within the old lock. The lock was reopened in 1998 and is used for recreation and tour boats. It is 76 meters long, 16 meters wide and 3 meters deep.

The Sault locks are a well developed tourist site that offers viewing stands to watch the locks at work and tour boat trips through the locks. It is now designated a National Historic Site of Canada (see: Sault Ste. Marie Canal).

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 46.5025° -84.3485°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• Soo Locks homepage US Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks page
• Web Camera view of the American locks
• Soo Locks Festival web site
• Michigan State University web page about the locks
• Aerial photo of locks; note ship in lower lock
• Animation of how the Soo Locks work.
• Soo Locks Visitors Center website