River Locks
River Locks and Dams – This is the small lock on the Tombigbee river, you will find locks on many rivers especially if there are Corp of Engineer parks in the area.
I have never seen a tug boat quite like this one, it was coming out of the locks here when I was taking photos of the dam.
Lock and Dam No. 15 below, is one of my favorite places to stop and watch pelicans on the Mississippi River.
It is located on the Upper Mississippi River. It spans the river between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. Lock and Dam 15 is the largest roller dam in the world,
Its dam is 1,203 feet (366.7 m) long and consists of nine 109 feet (33.2 m) non-submersible, non-overflow roller gates and two 109 feet (33.2 m) non-submersible overflow roller gates. It is unusual among the upper Mississippi River dams in that it has only roller gates
I took this photo below of the white pelican landing on the river when we stopped by there this spring.
Below is lock and dam 14 on the Mississippi river, another great place to watch birds and tug boats.
River Locks
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
18 Replies to “River Locks”
Know those L&D areas very well – as Brad mentioned, we used to go up regularly to 14 to photograph the Eagles, but that is pretty much a waste of time these days with the nonstop construction over the years and the main perch tree being taken down.
Yes,not they are building giant dam gates, for the dams, ha, but there are always Pelicans hanging about.
cool! 🤣😎🙃
That was interesting Sandra and I had not heard of a roller dam before, so I learned something. That sure was a large tugboat. The pelican looked like it was skidding to a stop. 🙂 You should send those photos to the Dam, to whomever maintains it, etc.
That roller dam is a new one on me, Sandra. Thanks for the nice pictures.
You are very welcome Don, yes, that dam is giant. So unique looking. The Pelicans fish there because the rollers churn up the water so much the fish are easy to catch.
Makes a lot of sense for those birds ‘whose beak can hold more than his belly can’.
I always like saying that ditty. 😊
💙💙💙🩵🩵🩵🙏
Thank you Francine 🙂 have a great weekend.
Nice dam photos. Those used to be good spots to see eagles, until some pruning took down their landing spots at L&D 14. There are tugs like that pushing 15 barges at a time up the Illinois if you want to catch more of them.
Yes, we used to go there at 14, and dozens of people from all over the country with their cameras would line the banks in the winter time. Not anymore. We were just there a few weeks ago, and they have rebuilt the entire area. Lots of pelicans now, which I don’t mind, I like them also.
I like it when they fly overhead in squadrons. Not sure if that’s the correct term, but that’s what it reminds me of.
Some lovely photos!
Thank you Marland 🙂
You’re welcome!
I love the bird landing
Thank you Samuel 🙂