Sault Ste. Marie

We traveled north to Sault Ste Marie where Lake Superior and Lake Huron meet. The Soo Locks allow freighters, barges, and tugboats traverse the 21-foot drop between Lake Superior and Lake Huron every day. We were lucky enough to watch a huge freighter pass by from the viewing stands. An average of 10,000 vessels go through the locks every year. The lock system is run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and they are the busiest in the world, and include the largest lock in the Western Hemisphere, completed in 1968.

The viewing stands:

A small tour boat came through first. It looks so tiny in this huge lock!

The freighter is slowly pulling into the lock to head from Lake Superior down to Lake Huron.