Back Schiffsschleuse ALS Inclusa AN هويس Arabic Esclusa AST Şlyuz (hidrotexniki qurğu) Azerbaijani Шлюз Byelorussian Шлюз Bulgarian Resclosa Catalan Zdymadlo Czech Шлюз CV

Lock (water navigation)

Not to be confused with Loch.
"Gate (water transport)" redirects here. Not to be confused with Water gate.
Canal lock and lock-keeper's cottage on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal at Marsworth in Hertfordshire, England
Lock on the River Neckar at Heidelberg in Germany
Three Gorges Dam lock near Yichang on Yangtze river, China
A gate in the Hatton flight in England
Iroquois Lock on the Saint Lawrence Seaway

A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself (usually then called a caisson) that rises and falls.[1]

Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to cross land that is not level.[2] Later canals used more and larger locks to allow a more direct route to be taken.

  1. ^ "Canals and inland waterways - Locks, Navigation, Engineering | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  2. ^ "Different types of locks". canalrivertrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-05.

Developed by StudentB