Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Mary". The Saint Mary's River runs from Lake Superior to Lake Huron; between what are now the twin border cities, located on either side. No hyphens are used in the English spelling, which is otherwise identical to the French, but the pronunciations differ. Anglophones say and Francophones say . In French, the name can be written "Sault-Sainte-Marie". On both sides of the border, the towns and the general vicinity are called The Sault (usually pronounced ) or The Soo. The two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 (I-75) in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Huron
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage passing through it. Smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal. The city's downtown was developed on an island, with the locks to the north and the Sault Ste. Marie Power Canal to the south. The largest ships are long by wide. These are domestic carriers (called "lakers"). Too large to transit the Welland Canal that bypasses Niagara Falls, they are land-locked. Foreign ships (termed "salties") are