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Soo Locks

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Detroit District

Published Jan. 10, 2024

Updated: April 9, 2024

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The Soo Locks

Nearly 100% of America's domestic iron ore passes through the Soo Locks with a value of $500 billion and supporting 123,000 jobs.

Visitor Center

Class A Visitor Center with more than 500,000 visitors annually.

New Lock at the Soo Mega Project

The New Lock at the Soo would eliminate the single point of failure in our Nation's iron ore supply chain.

The Soo Locks are operated and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District. The Soo Area office is responsible for 75 miles of binational channels and 13 Great Lakes harbors and channels.

Welcome to the Soo Locks

Over 7,000 ships a year transit the Soo Locks

Crews at the Soo Locks complete over 7,000 lockages during the 42-week-long navigation season. The locks operate 24 hours a days, seven days a week allowing government, commercial and private vessels to quickly pass between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

22 million gallons of water to lift a boat

Despite changes in machinery and power sources, today's locks work much as they did 200 years ago. By opening and closing valves, water moves in and out of the lock chamber using only gravity. Over 22 million gallons of water move through the Poe Lock every time a boat is raised or lowered.

Over 150 million kilowatt hours of electricity

Hydro electric power has been a part of the Soo Locks since 1888. Two hydro electric plants at the Soo Locks together generate 150 million kilowatt hours of electricity which powers the facility and provides baseline power for the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

National Historic Landmark

The first lock at the Soo carried freight canoes around the rapids on the Canadian side of the river. American forces destroyed it during the War of 1812. For the next 40+ years, cargo had to be carried around the rapids. Since the opening of the State Lock on the U.S. side in 1855, there have been locks in continuous operations here. The entire Soo Locks facility is on the National Historic Register.

Welcome to the Soo Locks

24/7 Crews at the Soo Locks complete over 7,000 lockages during the 42-week-long navigation season. The locks operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week allowing government, commercial and private vessels to quickly pass between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

History

The St. Marys River has always been a critical waterway. For thousands of years, Native American people encamped on its banks each year to harvest whitefish and relied on the river, as a vital connection to the larger Great Lakes trade network. As Europeans settled in the region and engaged in the fur trade, voyageurs adopted larger canoes, each carrying up to five tons. At the rapids in the St. Marys men had to unload and portage (carry) everything around the rapids.
In 1798, the British North West Company built a lock on the Canadian side of the river to eliminate the need to portage large trade canoes. In 1814, during the War of 1812, a party of American soldiers destroyed this lock. Afterwards, the practice of portaging cargos around the rapids resumed and expanded with docks and warehouses at each end of the rapids in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and a strap railway on Water Street for moving freight. It took days to unload and reload a ship.
A mining boom of copper and iron ore along the western end of Lake Superior in the 1840s fueled the drive to build a new navigation lock in Sault Ste. Marie. In 1853, the state of Michigan, with funding from a federal land grant, began building a set of tandem locks. Built one behind the other, each was 350-feet-long with a lift of about 10 feet. Known as the State Locks these locks began operating in 1855 and vessels could pass through in a matter of hours rather than days.
Before long, the volume of traffic outgrew the capacity of the State Lock and increasing vessel sizes began reaching its limits. To meet the needs of navigation, the federal government began constructing a new, larger lock south of the State Lock in 1873. When this 800-foot-long lock opened in 1881, the state of Michigan turned the entire facility over to the federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who have operated it ever since.

Significance

The U.S. Soo Locks consist of two canals and four locks: MacArthur Lock, Poe Lock, Davis Lock (closed) and Sabin Lock (closed), allowing vessels to navigate the 21- foot drop in elevation of the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Navigation Information

Motorized private boats may use the U.S. Soo Locks by contacting the Chief Lockmaster (WUE-21) before entering the area between the piers on Marine VHF Channel 14 to request a lockage and receive instructions. While navigating the piers/locks please remain in contact with the tower via marine radio or cellphone.
Paddle craft and personal watercraft (jet skis, etc.) are prohibited from entering the U.S. Soo Locks and should instead contact the Canadian Lock (VDX-23) on Marine VHF Channel 14. Operation of the Canadian Lock is seasonal and hours may vary.

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