Watering the Canal

Watering the Canal (HMEK9)

Location: Potomac, MD 20854 Montgomery County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 4.018', W 77° 19.728'

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Inscription
Why are there two locks here? While they may look similar, the two locks played very different roles in the operation of the canal. The lock in front of you is Inlet Lock 2. The lock behind you is Lift Lock 23. Lift locks raised and lowered boats to overcome changes in elevation. Inlet locks controlled the amount of water let into the canal. Dams funneled water to the inlet locks. Dam 2 diverted water from the Potomac River to this inlet lock, watering the canal from Lock 23 all the way to Lock 5 and Dam 1 at Little Falls.

Life and success on the canal depended on water. To ensure a steady supply of water, the canal company built seven dams and a stream pump along the river. In times of drought or low water, usually during the height of summer, river levels could drop dramatically. When the canal could not get enough water from the river, boat traffic stopped. This caused a loss of revenue for the canal company and the loss of a living for the boat captains.
Details
HM NumberHMEK9
Series This marker is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal series
Tags
Placed ByC&O Canal National Historical Park - National Park Service - Department of the Interior
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 27th, 2014 at 11:43pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 298523 N 4326789
Decimal Degrees39.06696667, -77.32880000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 4.018', W 77° 19.728'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 4' 1.08" N, 77° 19' 43.68" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)240, 301
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 86 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, Potomac MD 20854, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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