Welland Canal Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller to Port Colborne, it enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls. The canal carries about 3,000 ships which carry about 40,000,000 tons of cargo a year. It was a major factor in the growth of the city of Toronto, Ontario. The original canal and its successors allowed goods from Great Lakes ports such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago, as
Welland Canal ship locks. Seven of the locks (Locks 1–7, the 'Lift' locks) are long and raise (or lower) passing ships by between each. The southernmost lock, (Lock 8 – the 'Guard' or 'Control' lock) is in length. The Garden City Skyway passes over the canal, restricting the maximum height of the masts of the ships allowed on this canal to . All other highway or railroad crossings of the Welland Canal are either movable bridges (of the vertical lift or bascule bridge types) or subterranean tunnels. The maximum permissible length of a ship in this canal is . It takes ships