Lock and Dam No. 13

Summary

Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois and Clinton, Iowa, United States. This facility offers visitors a view of the barges and boats locking through on the widest pool in the Upper Mississippi River.

Lock and Dam No. 13
Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Mississippi River. View is upriver to the north.
LocationClinton, Iowa / Fulton Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, USA
Coordinates41°53′53″N 90°09′21″W / 41.89806°N 90.15583°W / 41.89806; -90.15583
Construction began1935
Opening dateMay 13, 1938
Operator(s) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsUpper Mississippi River
Length5,138 feet (1,566.1 m)
Reservoir
CreatesPool 13
Total capacity192,000 acre⋅ft (0.237 km3)
Catchment area85,500 sq mi (221,000 km2)
Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District
Lock and Dam No. 13 is located in Illinois
Lock and Dam No. 13
Lock and Dam No. 13 is located in the United States
Lock and Dam No. 13
Location4999 Lock Rd., Fulton, Illinois
Area254.2 acres (102.9 ha)
Built1939
ArchitectU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Architectural styleModerne, Lock and Dam
MPSUpper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Project MPS
NRHP reference No.04000173[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 10, 2004

The movable portion of the dam is 1,066 feet (324.9 m) long and consists of ten tainter gates and three roller gates. The non-movable portion of the dam continues toward the Iowa shore with a 200 feet (61.0 m) storage yard, a 728 feet (221.9 m) non-submersible dike, a 1,650 feet (502.9 m) submersible dike, and a 1,315 feet (400.8 m) non-submersible dike with two 90 feet (27.4 m) transitional sections between the submersible and non-submersible sections. There is also an 8,940 feet (2,724.9 m) non-submersible dike on the Illinois side east of the locks. The main lock is 110 feet (33.5 m) wide by 600 feet (182.9 m) long and like most other sites in the project, it has a smaller, unfinished, auxiliary lock.[2] In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District, #04000173 covering 2,542 acres (10.3 km2), 1 building, 6 structures, and 4 objects.

This lock and dam represent the man-made exit from the Driftless Area, where shipping has to travel a few feet above bedrock over the 9-foot (2.7 m) shipping channel. It's about 522 feet (159 m) above sea level.

Map of Lock and Dam No. 13
https://web.archive.org/web/20161226221158/http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/CC/FactSheets/MISS/UMR%20Locks%20%26%20Dams%20-%202016%20%28MVD%29.pdf

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Lock & Dam 13" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

External links edit

  Media related to Mississippi River Lock and Dam number 13 at Wikimedia Commons

  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-26, "Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam No. 13, Upper Mississippi River, Fulton vicinity, Whiteside County, IL"
  • Lock and Dam No. 13 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers