Q.    Dear Lance,
                Our family just visited England, and we saw many canals.  Weren't the canals in Pennsylvania just copied from those of England?
        -Amy

A.    Dear Amy,
                You are very observant!  British canals are very much like the ones you see in Pennsylvania.  However, the engineers who designed our canals were confronted with challenges which their English counterparts did not face.  Pennsylvania rivers are much steeper than those in England.  The highest canal in England is only xxx feet above sea level and travels many miles to get there.  The Delaware and Lehigh Canals rise to 1000 feet in about 300 miles.  Consequently, our locks had to be higher and much stronger, to withstand the increased water pressure.  You can find out more about this in our education section<link>.
         -Lance

Q.    Dear Lance,
               Last week we visited the Hugh Moore Park and met Dixie and Daisy, who pulled the boat for us.  Were canal boats ever pulled by anything other than mules. 
        -David

A.    Dear David,
               Mules are the best.  They pull at a steady pace and never work so hard that they get overly tired.  In emergencies people have used other animals - horses and oxen.  Both have less satisfactory temperaments.  Boats with motors were used for a while, but the vibration from the propellers damage the walls of the canal.
         -Lance

Address your questions to Lance Metz at <ncm@canals.org>.

FAQ's about the canals.