Erie Canal elevation of . Lake Erie has a mean surface elevation of . Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a canal in New York, United States that is part of the east–west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). Originally, it ran from where Albany meets the Hudson River to where Buffalo meets Lake Erie. It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. When completed in 1825, it was the second longest canal in the world (after
Rideau Canal canal to Kingston and out into Lake Ontario. The objective was to bypass the stretch of the St. Lawrence bordering New York; a route which would have left British supply ships vulnerable to an attack or a blockade of the St. Lawrence. The canal also served a commercial purpose. The Rideau Canal was easier to navigate than the St. Lawrence River because of the series of rapids between Montreal and Kingston. As a result, the Rideau Canal became a busy commercial artery from Montreal to the Great Lakes. However, by 1849, the rapids of the St. Lawrence had been tamed