Welland Ship Canal

Waterway in south Ontario, Canada. Since 1959 it has been a part of the St Lawrence Seaway, linking Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Extending for 45 km/28 mi through the Niagara Peninsula, the modern canal (1932) carries ships over the Niagara Escarpment between Port Colborne on Lake Erie and Port Weller on Lake Ontario, which is 99 m/326 ft lower. Of its eight locks, numbers 4–6, in Thorold, are ‘twin-flight’, allowing one ship to be lifted as another is lowered.