Geographic Facts
The St. Lawrence River connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Starting from the eastern end of Lake Ontario, it flows out towards the ocean. At the very end, it gets wide and turns into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. If you start at the very western end of Lake Superior, you could swim all the way out to the Atlantic through the great lakes and then the St. Lawrence River.
Starting from Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River is almost 750 miles long. If you wanted to drive that distance in a car, you'd have to drive for more than 12 hours straight.
The St. Lawrence River flows close to the border between the United States and Canada. Mostly, Canada is to the north of the river and the US is to the south. But a little bit of Canadian land is also south of the river.
Lots of fish and birds live in the St. Lawrence River. Also, many birds travel through the area when they fly south for the winter and back north for the summer. These birds like to stop by the St. Lawrence River for a quick snack of fish, seaweed, or other plants. It's like a big highway rest stop, but for birds.
The St. Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence River runs through the part of Canada where most Canadians live, going past major cities such as Montreal. So a lot of people want to use it for transportation. In 1954, the US and Canada started working together on the St. Lawrence Seaway. They made the shallow parts of the river deeper so big ships could sail all along the whole river.
At some parts, the St. Lawrence River has waterfalls or really steep downhill flows. To let ships go by these parts of the river safely, the St. Lawrence Seaway includes a lot of locks. Locks are like elevators for boats.
The St. Lawrence Seaway was finished in 1959. Now, big ships can travel all along the St. Lawrence River. This makes it easier for people and things to travel. For example, farmers who grow food in the U.S. can easily send their food up the river to people who live in cities like Toronto. Today, the St. Lawrence Seaway is one of the busiest international trade routes in the whole world.
Hydropower
The St. Lawrence River is also used for hydropower. Hydropower means using water to create electricity. Because the river has a really strong current, engineers built special dams that turn the energy from the current into electric power.
Lesson Summary
The St. Lawrence River runs from the eastern edge of Lake Ontario out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. Built in the 1950s, the St. Lawrence Seaway allows big ships to carry food and other things all along the river. People also use the river for hydropower, making electricity from the river's current.
