What is Saint Lawrence Seaway?
[[File:St lawrence seaway.jpeg|thumb|Ships in the Saint Lawrence Seaway]] The '''Saint Lawrence Seaway''' is a [[navigable]] [[waterway]] in [[North America]]. It is {{convert|370|mi|km}} long and allows [[marine vessel]]s to go from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to all of the [[Great Lakes]]. Most of it is in [[Canada]], but a small part of it is in the [[United States]]. It gets its name from the [[Saint Lawrence River]], the river which goes from [[Lake Ontario]] to the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]]. Before the Seaway was built, there was no way for [[boat]]s and [[ship]]s to get around the [[rapids]] and [[dam]]s on the Saint Lawrence River. Big ships could not pass [[Niagara Falls]], the [[waterfall]]s on the [[Niagara River]] between Lake Ontario and [[Lake Erie]]. In the early [[20th century]], the [[government]]s of both Canada and the U.S. saw that the [[city|cities]] near the Great Lakes could grow and become an important part of the [[economy]] of both countries. There were people in both countries who did not want the Seaway to be built, but the project went ahead. In [[1954]], construction began on a system of [[canal]]s from [[Montreal]] in the east to [[Port Colborne, Ontario|Port Colborne]] in the west. It included 15 [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] where the [[Above mean sea level|water level]] changes, and several places where [[electricity]] could be made from the [[hydroelectricity|flow of water]]. The project also involved making the [[Welland Canal]] bigger so that large ships can pass through it. The Seaway was completed in [[1959]] at a cost of [[Canadian dollar|C$]]470 million. Today, thousands of vessels use it every year, from small [[recreation]]al boats to huge [[ocean liner]]s. About 40 to 50 million [[tonne]]s of [[cargo]] are moved on these ships and they go to all parts of the world including [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[Africa]]. It has been an important part of the [[economic growth]] of cities like [[Toronto]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]],