Locks of Europe

LOCKS OF EUROPE
What is a lock? A lock, an amazing feat of engineering, has made it possible for river boats to sail either up or down stream, solving previous historical river navigation problems like fast flowing water, rapids and shallow or rocky sections.
The simple and ingenious solution, the lock, is a man made canal or dam which mechanically controls its water levels between the minimum and maximum river water levels at each end of the lock. Water is introduced and drained through hydraulically controlled gates or water tight doors.
What a lock literally does, to sail downstream, is fill the dam to the maximum river level, let the boat sail into the dam, let the water drain out of the dam to the minimum river level and let the boat sail out of the dam and continue its journey. For a boat to sail upstream, the opposite procedure will fill and then empty the dam.

AVALON WATERWAYS LOCKS - DANUBE RIVER CRUISE

Engelhartzel - Austria