Peterborough Lift Lock

The Peterborough Lift Lock is a boat lift located on the Trent Canal in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and is Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Peterborough Lift Lock
Front view of the Peterborough Lift Lock
44°18′27″N 78°18′03″W
WaterwayTrent-Severn Waterway
CountryCanada
ProvinceSouthern Ontario
Maintained byParks Canada
OperationHydraulic
First built1904 (1904)
Latest built1980s
Length43 metres (141 ft)
Width10 metres (33 ft)
Fall19.8 metres (65 ft 0 in)
Designated1979

For many years, the lock's dual lifts were the highest hydraulic boat lifts in the world, raising boats 65 ft (20 m). This was a considerable accomplishment in the first years of the 20th century, when conventional locks usually only had a 7 ft (2.1 m) rise.

In the 1980s, a visitor centre was built beside the lock. It offers interactive simulations of going over the lift lock in a boat, and historical exhibits detailing the construction of the lift lock.

Residents and visitors skate on the canal below the lift lock in the winter.

The Peterborough Lift Lock was designated a National Historic Site in 1979, and was named an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1987.

The Trent-Severn has a similar hydraulic lift lock, the Kirkfield Lift Lock, at its summit near Kirkfield, with basins of the same dimensions, but which has a smaller vertical lift.

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