Amory Lock facts for kids
Amory Lock and Dam
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| Waterway | Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Monroe County |
| Maintained by | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
| Operation | Hydraulic |
| First built | 1984 |
| Length | 600 ft (180 m) |
| Width | 110 ft (34 m) |
| Fall | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 34°00′40″N 88°29′21″W / 34.01111°N 88.48917°W |
The Amory Lock is a special kind of water elevator for boats. It's part of the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, a big canal system that connects rivers. This lock helps boats travel between different water levels. It was once called Lock A.
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Where is Amory Lock?
The Amory Lock is found in the city of Amory, Mississippi. The waterway itself forms the western and northern edges of the city. If you drive on Mississippi Highway 6, you'll cross the waterway on a bridge just south of the lock.
The Amory Lock is located at mile 371.1 along the waterway. This number tells you how far it is from the very southern end of the waterway. That southern end is near the Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge in Mobile, Alabama.
Cool Facts About Amory Lock
Building the Amory Lock cost about $23.3 million. When it was built, it also created a large lake north of the lock and dam. This lake covers about 914 acres (which is like 690 football fields!).
Boats use special radios to talk to the lock operators. All locks on the waterway use marine radio channel 16 to get ready. But for the Amory Lock, boats switch to its own special channel, which is 14.
When Can Boats Use the Lock?
The locks on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway are open all the time, every day of the week!
- For really big boats: They can use the lock whenever they need to.
- For smaller boats (like pleasure boats): The Amory Lock has a set schedule. It operates in the morning at 5 AM, 7 AM, 9 AM, and 11 AM. In the afternoon, it runs at 1 PM, 3 PM, 5 PM, and 7 PM.
Who Gets to Go First?
Sometimes, many boats want to use the Amory Lock at the same time. To keep things fair, there's a priority list. Some boats get to go before others.
Here's the order, from those with the highest priority to the lowest:
- U.S. military craft: These are boats used by the military.
- Commercial passenger craft: Boats that carry people for money, like tour boats.
- Commercial tows: Boats that push or pull barges carrying goods.
- Commercial fishermen: Boats used for fishing as a business.
- Pleasure boats: Boats used for fun, like personal boats or yachts.
