Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/St. Mary's Canal

ST. MARY'S CANAL, an improved river channel connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron. It flows N. E. for 40 miles on the frontier between the upper peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian Province of Ontario. There are two main channels divided by large islands and both expand into small lakes at some points 10 miles wide. There is a fall of 20 feet, the steepest descent being at St. Mary's Rapids, about a mile long, near the upper end. The improvement began in 1855 with locks built at a cost of $1,000,000, and was continued in 1870-81 and 1889-96 by the United States Government. The traffic through the canal has attained great proportions in recent years, and improvements have been made on the Canadian side by the Canadian Government.