The Federal Dam is a manmade

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

built across the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

from

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

on the east bank to Green Island on the west bank. The major function of the dam is to improve navigability. It is located at mile 153 of the Hudson River, measuring from the beginning of the Hudson as a Federally Navigable Waterway near the Battery in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The location of the dam marks the upper end of the Hudson River

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, the farthest reach of tidal influence.

The Federal Lock

In order to allow ships to move freely, the eastern end of the dam contains a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, commonly called the ''Federal Lock'' or (on some charts and publications) the "''Troy-US Lock''." The lock, which was opened in 1916, has a single chamber and is long, wide, deep, and has a lift of approximately 14 feet (4.3 m). Although it is the first lock encountered by vessels passing from the Hudson River into the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

by way of the New York State Canal System, and it is sometimes referred to as lock "E-1," it is not part of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

(which officially has no "Lock 1"), nor maintained by the New York State Canal Corporation. Both the lock and the dam were built and are currently operated by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

References

{{coord, 42, 45, 7.2, N, 73, 41, 15.66, W, region:US, display=title Dams in New York (state) Hudson River Buildings and structures in Albany County, New York Buildings and structures in Rensselaer County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Rensselaer County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Albany County, New York United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1916 1916 establishments in New York (state) Erie Canal

The Federal Lock

See also

References