Cape May Canal | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°57′53″N 74°55′50″W / 38.9646°N 74.9305°W |
Specifications | |
Length | 3.3 miles (5.3 km) |
History | |
Original owner | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
Date of first use | 1942 |
Geography | |
Start point | Cape May Harbor |
End point | Delaware Bay |
The Cape May Canal is a 2.9-nautical-mile (3.3 mi; 5.4 km) waterway connecting Cape May Harbor to the Delaware Bay, at the southern tip of Cape May County, New Jersey.[1] There is a long history of unfulfilled plans for a canal across Cape May.[2] The canal was finally constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II to provide a protected route to avoid German U-boats operating off Cape May Point and to become part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The canal was dredged as a wartime emergency measure in 1942 and was the final link in a protected waterway intended to allow coastal shipping to travel along the coast with a greatly reduced risk of attack from German submarines.[3]