A report on Champlain Canal, Richelieu River, Erie Canal and Lake Champlain

The Champlain Canal is a 60 mi canal in New York that connects the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain.

It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal for use by commercial vessels, fully opening in 1823.

It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence.

With 19th-century construction of the Champlain Canal (1823) south of the Lake Champlain and the Chambly Canal (1843) to the north, the Richelieu provided a direct route from the Saint Lawrence River to New York via Lake Champlain, the canals, and the Hudson River.

Because of both Lake Champlain's connection to the St. Lawrence Seaway via the Richelieu River and the existence of the Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain is sometimes referred to as "The Sixth Great Lake."

By traveling the length of Lake Champlain, boaters can access the Richelieu River and Chambly Canal, which connect Lake Champlain to the Saint Lawrence River.

It connects the three other canals in the New York State Canal System: the Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga–Seneca.

The Champlain Canal, a separate but connected 64 mi north-south route from Watervliet on the Hudson to Lake Champlain, opened on the same date.

The Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain form the U.S. portion of the Lakes to Locks Passage, linking with the Hudson River and allowing navigation using the Richelieu between the St. Lawrence River and New York City and the Erie Canal.

Lake Champlain has been connected to the Erie Canal via the Champlain Canal since the canal's official opening on September 9, 1823: the same day as the opening of the Erie Canal from Rochester on Lake Ontario to Albany.

The Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain, and the Chambly Canal, and Richelieu River in Canada form the Lakes to Locks Passage, making a tourist attraction of the former waterway linking eastern Canada to the Erie Canal.