The Soo Lochs...150 years strong

June 8, 2005

This summer the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula will celebrate the 150th anniversary with a series of celebrations and events. The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior with Lake Huron by bypassing the rapids of the St. Mary’s River.
Lake Superior is about 21 feet higher than Lake Huron, and until the first locks were built in 1797, traders and trappers had to portage their canoes around the St. Mary’s rapids. Those first locks, a mere 38 feet long, were built on the Canadian side by the Northwest Fur Company and allowed canoes and small boats to pass between the lakes.
Those locks were destroyed in the War of 1812 and the next set of two, this time built on the American side, were 350 feet long and completed in 1835. Those were done by the State of Michigan but were turned over to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1881.
MORE THAN PANAMA
Nowadays, as then, the size of the locks limits the capacity of ships moving into and out of Lake Superior. Not many people are aware that the Soo locks carry more tonnage than the Panama Canal. The reason is in the nature of the cargoes. The bulk carriers on Lake Superior carry iron ore, coal, and salt: all heavy products.

Those distinctive ships are unique to the Great Lakes: long and narrow, with superstructures fore and aft, and an expanse between the ends for the hatches that access the bulk cargo.
Visitors to the Soo Locks may also see the occasional “salty,” the name given to ocean-going general cargo ships. Those often load grain at Superior, Wisconsin.
The present locks are 850 feet long and lower ships 21 feet in about 15 minutes. It’s exciting to see a giant bulk carrier squeeze into the locks with only a few feet to spare on either side. That may explain some of the dents you see in the plating of those ships.
It would be more efficient to have larger ships, but the locks and the depth of the harbors prevent it. The waterways on Lake Superior are dredged to a depth of between 24 and 27 feet. Currently the large container ships that bring goods to American ports from all over the world need a channel depth of 40 feet. As it is, when a bulk carrier eases into the harbor at Superior, Wisconsin, it may float only a few feet off the bottom.

SUMMER CELEBRATIONS  
This summer’s celebrations at the Soo start on June 24 on Engineer’s Day with Corps of Engineers tours of the locks.
• On June 25-27 native Americans will demonstrate birch bark canoe building, give talks on pow-wow traditions, and demonstrate dances.
• June 25 is Canadian Lock day with a once a year opportunity to walk the International Bridge from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to its twin border city, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Visitors should be advised that this may be the last year you’ll be able to cross back into the United States with only a driver’s license picture ID, as U.S. passports will be required next year. If your family has been divided by divorce, you can’t take your kids out of the country without a letter of consent from the other parent.
• Celebrations of the sesquicentennial continue July 1-4 with parades, boat races, a pow-wow, and fireworks. This may be the most exciting of the festivities, but it’s not over yet.
• July 15-17 will be Military Days, with a visit of the traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial. If you haven’t seen the Wall in Washington, you’ll be solemnly impressed by this traveling exhibit. Military Days are also the date for the annual Veterans Motorcycle Rally, so polish up your Harley and join the roaring fun.
• July 22-24 are Voyageur Days. Imagine those French Voyageurs paddling those big canoes full of beaver pelts. Those men must have had arms and shoulders of steel to paddle the length of Lake Superior. Voyageur days will have fish boils, enactments, and canoe-related events.
• On August 5-7 the emphasis will be on historical recollections from 1855, 1905, and 1955. Dances, socials, and antique cars will be featured.
• Then on August 12-14 Maritime Days will have a lighted boat parade, tall ships, and Coast Guard displays.
• The grand finale closing ceremony will be on September 2. All governors and the President will be invited to attend the Anniversary Ball.

No matter when during the summer you can spend your vacation, at least one of those celebrations should fit in. You may have visited the Soo Locks before on some ordinary day. This sesquicentennial offers far more, so come on up to the Soo and join in the parties and the fun.