More About the Erie Canal

A bit of background on the Erie Canal.

One look at this topographic map of New York state ("borrowed" from the Raven Maps website - please go look at their fabulous maps!) makes it clear where to build a waterway to connect New York City to the Great Lakes. The Mohawk River is the only waterway that goes completely through the Appalachians, splitting Adirondacks to the north and the Catskills and Appalachian Plateau to the south. We saw a 3-D map like this in the Visitor Center at Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site, and were stunned by the immense gap the river created.

The Erie Canal has been rebuilt twice since the original. The first canal, dubbed "Clinton's Ditch" after NY Governor DeWitt Clinton who championed the project without federal assistance, was only 40 ft wide and 4 ft deep. The Canal was such an economic success, that a larger canal was built only a few years later. By and large the "Enlarged Erie Canal" was built right next to the existing canal. At 70 feet wide and 7 feet deep, it accommodated larger boats. Finally, in the early 20th Century, a modern canal system, the "Barge Canal", was built to accommodate larger motorized boats. It is a minimum of 133 ft wide and 12 ft deep. In many places it diverges substantially from the original route, and makes use of natural waterways (rivers and lakes) where possible. This canal system is still in use today, but is now recreational, since canal freight cannot compete economically with rail and trucks. (Illlustration photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)

These maps show the original route of the canal, and the current canal route. (Photographed at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.)

Elevational profile of the current Barge Canal. The canal drops 571 feet from Buffalo to Albany, with a slight rise between Syracuse and Utica. (Graphic photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)