<P> The Erie Canal is a canal in New York, United States that is part of the east--west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). Originally, it ran 363 miles (584 km) from where Albany meets the Hudson River to where Buffalo meets Lake Erie . It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes . When completed in 1825, it was the second longest canal in the world (after the Grand Canal in China) and greatly affected the development and economy of New York, New York City, and the United States . </P> <P> The canal was first proposed in the 1780s, then re-proposed in 1807 . A survey was authorized, funded, and executed in 1808 . Proponents of the project gradually wore down opponents; its construction began in 1817 . The canal has 34 numbered locks starting with Black Rock Lock and ending downstream with the Troy Federal Lock . Both are owned by the federal government . It has an elevation difference of about 565 feet (172 m). It opened on October 26, 1825 . </P> <P> In a time when bulk goods were limited to pack animals (a 250 - pound (113 kg) maximum), and there were no railways, water was the most cost - effective way to ship bulk goods . </P> <P> The canal was denigrated by its political opponents as "Clinton's Folly" or "Clinton's Big Ditch". It was the first transportation system between the Eastern Seaboard and the western interior of the United States that did not require portage . </P>

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