Lock & Dam #1
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
“Lock and Dam No. 1 is one of 29 lock and dams along the Upper Mississippi River. These 29 locks and dams form the 9-foot Navigation Channel allowing for travel of barges and tows from St. Anthony Falls to the Gulf of Mexico and making Minneapolis - St. Paul a major trade and transshipment center to the world.
Recreation craft, ranging from canoes and power boats to floating palace excursion boats, also benefit from this structural solution to the rapids, rocks, and snags which formerly threatened to destroy the vessels that braved this river.”
-Interpretive plaque on site.
“The Mississippi River 9-foot channel project was authorized by Congress in 1930. The project provides a continuous navigation channel for the commerce that enhances your life.
Navigation of this waterway is made possible by 29 locks and dams. The 29 locks combine to raise or lower boats about 420 feet in the 630 mils between St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri. There are no locks on the Mississippi between St. Louis and the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 700 miles.”
-Interpretive plaque on site.
The hydropower generation plan.
A few interesting views of the falls.
Standing here, the sound of the water over the falls is really quite impressive.
The water above the falls is eerily peaceful.
These manmade waterfalls are amazingly impressive feats of engineering. However, they also seem so intimidating when one considers the power of nature.
This locking chamber is located closest to the river side of the facility and is called the riverward lock accordingly. Construction of this locking chamber was completed in 1930. On the day we visited it was not operational, as you can see from the buoy and chain blocking the downriver entry/exit.
“Navigation on this stretch of the river in its natural state upstream from St. Paul to Minneapolis was hazardous. During high flows, the current was swift, and during low flows, huge boulders made navigation almost impossible. It wasn’t until after development of the locks and dams here that the transport of flour and grain from Minneapolis to the Gulf of Mexico, and coal and bulk products from downriver to Minneapolis, became possible.”
-Interpretive plaque on site.
“On July 3, 1917, Lock and Dam No. 1, with hydroelectric capability of 15,200 horsepower, was opened for navigation. Six years after completion, a lease was negotiated with the Ford Motor Corporation for utilization of the dam’s power capabilities.
Between 1917 and 1925, the upper pool was used primarily by pleasure craft; the main reason being the lack of adequate terminals and turning basins.
All barge traffic was halted in August 1929 when the lower lock gate failed. To ensure against future interruption and in anticipation of a 9-foot channel between Minneapolis and St. Louis, the decision was made to build twin lock chambers. The first lock - the riverward lock (right in this photo) - was completed in 1930 and the second - the landward lock (left in this photo) - was placed into operation in 1932.”
-Interpretive plaque on site.
