the Erie Canal
/ði ˌɪəri kəˈnæl/
/ði ˌɪri kəˈnæl/
- a US canal completed in 1825. It was built to connect Lake Erie with the Hudson River, so that goods from New York City could be sent by water to the states in the Midwest. The canal was 365 miles/585 kilometres long. The New York State Barge Canal replaced it in 1918 and goes along some of the old route.