Edison Sault power plant and Soo Locks 2010-04-20 USACE

The Edison Sault Power Canal supplies the

Saint Marys Falls Hydropower Plant The Saint Marys Falls Hydropower Plant (also known as the Edison Sault Power Plant, Michigan Lake Superior Hydroelectric Power Plant, and the Cloverland Electric Cooperative Power House) is an 18-MW hydroelectric generating plant located in Sault S ...

, a

Cloverland Electric Cooperative Cloverland Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative in Michigan, United States. It serves five counties on the eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula ( Chippewa, Mackinac, Schoolcraft, Delta and Luce), as well as the cities of Sault Ste ...

hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

, in

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...

. Excavation of the

power canal A power canal is a canal used for hydraulic power generation, rather than for transport of watercraft. The power canal was a major factor in the Industrial Revolution in New England in the 19th century. Most early power canals were mill races ...

began in September 1898 and was completed in June 1902. The canal and hydroelectric complex were named a

Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United Stat ...

in 1983.

Physical features

The length of the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

from the headgates (intake) to the

power house Powerhouse or power house may refer to: * Power station, a facility (or former facility) for the generation of electric power Businesses * Powerhouse Animation Studios, an animation studio * powerHouse Books, a Brooklyn-based publisher of high-e ...

is approximately . The canal varies in width from at water level and is approximately in depth. The water

velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...

varies for various reasons but, at times, it can be up to . The entrance to the canal is located at the eastern end of Ashmun Bay and is controlled by four steel headgates. The upper quarter of the canal was excavated from rock while the remainder was dug into the earth and given a timber lining. The canal is designed to carry of water per second.

References

Energy infrastructure completed in 1902 Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan {{Hydroelectric-power-plant-stub

Physical features

Further reading

References