Locks on the lower Mississippi

[cdanson]

Hello. I am writing a work of fiction set in a post apocalyptic world that incorporates a journey up the Mississippi. I would like to hear from people who know the river about the location or existence of any locks or dams south of Lock & Dam 27 near Granite City. From google maps it seems to me that you can navigate from the gulf of Mexico all the way to Lock & Dam 27. That looks like about 1200km as the crow flies. I can't help but think that I may have missed something though and that perhaps there are obstacles to making that journey in a small craft. Any insights into the lower Mississippi will be very welcome. Kind regards, Chris

[Bacchusbill]

I've spent my 56 years on this earth between Memphis and New Orleans. There are no locks from Memphis to the Gulf of Mexico. I believe the most southern lock is in Missouri.

[cdanson]

Thanks Bill. Good to know. That looks like two thirds of the way to Granite City at least.

[JPA Cate]

We've some friends from Australia who went via Lake Michigan (Chicago's "sanitary canal) clear to the Gulf of Mexico in a boat with ~ 6.5 ft. draft. Did require the mast to be down. It's harder going upstream. Easier, but shallower before rainy season.

There may well be locks somewhere in there, I don't know.

Ann

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by cdanson

Hello. I am writing a work of fiction set in a post apocalyptic world that incorporates a journey up the Mississippi. I would like to hear from people who know the river about the location or existence of any locks or dams south of Lock & Dam 27 near Granite City. From google maps it seems to me that you can navigate from the gulf of Mexico all the way to Lock & Dam 27. That looks like about 1200km as the crow flies. I can't help but think that I may have missed something though and that perhaps there are obstacles to making that journey in a small craft. Any insights into the lower Mississippi will be very welcome. Kind regards, Chris

Locks aren't an obstacle to navigation, of course, they facilitate navigation. It's dams without locks that pose a problem, or locks that are temporary closed because the éclusier is having lunch, or locks that are more permanently closed due to lack of money or acts of congress or whatever.

Anyway, lock 27 at the Chain of Rocks canal is the downbound-most lock on the Mississippi as such, at river mile 185.5 (miles on the Upper Mississippi are reckoned from the confluence with the Ohio River in Cairo). From there it's about 950 miles to the Gulf, depending somewhat on which way you go (there are several choices once you reach New Orleans) and when you consider yourself to have arrived there. But you can bypass lock 27 if you can make it through the Chain of Rocks and don't need to take the canal, and though I wouldn't try it myself I've seen people go upstream through worse.

Some of the possible routes through New Orleans have locks. See https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/LockStatus/

You can get river charts for free in PDF form from the Army Corps of Engineers web site or get printed and bound copies at libraries or for around $100 each (upper/lower) from the government printing office.

Making the journey in a small craft. Feasibility varies seasonally depending on weather and river levels. Debris such as floating logs is a major hazard for upbound small craft in the spring and early summer and can still be a hazard at other times of year. And the large amount of downbound shipping.

The preferred craft for such a voyage would be a tunnel-hulled jet boat since they are effectively zero draft and unaffected by obstacles below the surface of the water. Expensive though and they burn a lot of gasoline. https://rockproofboats.com/river-rocket/

happy writing

[Jammer]

A fact to consider is that locks and dams can be portaged if the lock is closed or inoperative. (Portaging is the act of carrying a boat on shore to bypass an obstruction to navigation, such as rapids, naturally occurring obstacles like trees, the terrain between lakes, or built obstacles like dams. But you knew that...)



There are 12 dams on the Mississippi upstream of Minneapolis, none of which have functional locks. They are routinely portaged by paddlecraft along published portage routes.


Though less common, small motorized craft can be portaged, either hand carried by multiple people, or pushed using a cart, or hauled using a truck and trailer.

[cdanson]

Hi Jammer. Thanks for the details on the river & portaging. I was wondering about that being a possibility but had not come across the term before. Thanks also for thoughts on river debris and seasonal changes. In my story all the locks are going to be closed & non functioning so portaging is going to be a part of it. The vessel I'm imaging for my story is going to be some kind of futuristic small light hovercraft about the size of a motorhome with a relatively flat bottom and possibly some kind of in built wheels to aid portaging. It will be quite slow moving.

So here's another question. How far up river have alligators been known to go?

[JPA Cate]

Post apocolypse? wild boars, bears, wolves, humans, and alligators, too, eh? Well, the humans can predate pretty well on all of them. How'd we get here anyway?

Ann

[cdanson]

Ah well. The story is set 800 years in the future and is about a journey made by a man, a dog & an eagle travelling together from Argentina to Canada guided by an artificial intelligence while being chased by an evil organisation based in the afterlife. You know. Usual sort of thing. My apocalypse back story is kinda leaning towards some sort of meta crisis around disease and climate change. It's also a comedy.