Canal lock

Imagine you have a toy boat in a big bowl of water. Now, if you want to move the boat to a different level of water, you need to either lift the bowl or pour more water into the bowl. But what if you can't lift the bowl and you don't have any more water to pour in? This is where a canal lock comes in!

A canal lock is kind of like a big bathtub with doors at each end. When the boat enters the lock, the doors close behind it. Then, the lock is either filled with water from the higher level canal or emptied of water to the lower level canal using big gates. The boat in the lock rises or falls with the water level until it reaches the same height as the next canal section.

Once the water level in the lock is balanced with the next section of the canal, the doors on the other end of the lock open up and the boat can continue along the canal to its destination. It's like an elevator for boats!

Canal locks make it possible for boats to travel along rivers and canals that have different water heights. They make transportation faster and more efficient because boats don't have to wait for the water levels to change or go around long, winding routes. Plus, it's just really cool to see a boat rise or fall in a canal lock!