Importance Internal Waterways Science Project Idea

Science project idea on the importance of internal waterways.

Importance of Internal Waterways Science Project Idea

For the transportation of articles of commerce in which speed is riot a prime requisite, internal waterways might well be used far more than at present because of the smaller expense. This would also relieve the railroads so that their facilities might be used more completely in the transportation of passengers, mails, foodstuffs, and articles that demand quick delivery. Congestion of railroad traffic has been one of the causes of the high cost of living. In the great development of railroads during the past fifty years, the development of transportation by water has been neglected to a large extent. An illustration of the great importance of river navigation is seen in the carrying of coal and iron from Pittsburgh down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

River traffic has been supplemented by the construction of canals. Many of these have fallen into disuse during the period of development of railroads, but recently steps have been taken to put some of them into a usable condition.

The first half of the nineteenth century in the United States might almost have been called the era of canal building. Some of the canals were short ones around falls in otherwise navigable rivers. Many were of interest because they cut across watersheds and connected distinct drainage systems, frequently at the portages used by the Indians and early settlers. If railroads had not developed as they did, we should have had a very complete system of internal waterways.

The most important of these was the Erie Canal, completed in 1825 from Buffalo to Albany, a distance of 352 miles, connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River. Pennsylvania and Maryland attempted to connect their tide water rivers with the Ohio River; Virginia endeavored to connect Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River; in New Jersey the Morris Canal was built connecting New York City with the Delaware River; Ohio and Indiana built canals from the Great Lakes to tributaries of the Ohio River, and in Illinois a canal was constructed connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi system.

The "Soo" canal at Sault Ste. Marie, between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, and the Welland ship canal, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in Canadian territory, afford a continuous passage from all parts of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the St. Lawrence River. The route is of especial interest to us now because in the Great War many of the large lake vessels were brought to the Atlantic to be used to carry troops and supplies to Europe. This route has put great areas of our country into direct water connection with the markets of the world.