Okeechobee Waterway

Okeechobee Waterway
Ortona Lock and Dam on the Caloosahatchee River, part of the Okeechobee Waterway
Map
LocationSouth Florida
CountryUnited States
Coordinates26°48′22″N 81°06′46″W / 26.80611°N 81.11278°W / 26.80611; -81.11278
Specifications
Length154[1] miles (248 km)
Locks5
StatusOpen
Navigation authorityU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Geography
Start pointSan Carlos Bay
End pointIndian River Lagoon
St. Lucie Lock and Dam on the Okeechobee Waterway, approximately 15 miles (24 kilometres) southwest of Stuart, Florida. According to the lock webpage by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lock chamber is "50 feet wide x 250 feet long x 10 feet deep at low water",[2] showing that the design of the canal system and waterway is for shallow barges and not a ship canal.

The Okeechobee Waterway or Okeechobee Canal is a relatively shallow artificial waterway in the United States, stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida's east coast. The waterway can support tows such as barges or private vessels up to 50 feet (15 metres) wide x 250 feet (76 metres) long which draw less than 10 feet (3.0 metres),[2] as parts of the system, especially the locks may have low water depths of just ten feet.[2] The system of channels runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal east of the lake.[1]

Geologically and geographically, the north bank of the canal is the official southern limit of the Eastern Continental Divide.

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Okeechobee Waterway".
  2. ^ a b c U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Lucie Locks webpage.