Lock and Dam No. 13

Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois and Clinton, Iowa, United States. This facility offers visitors a view of the barges and boats locking through on the widest pool in the Upper Mississippi River.

Lock and Dam No. 13
Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Mississippi River. View is upriver to the north.
Location	Clinton, Iowa / Fulton Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, USA
Coordinates	41°53′53″N 90°09′21″W
Construction began	1935
Opening date	May 13, 1938
Operator(s)	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Upper Mississippi River
Length	5,138 feet (1,566.1 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Pool 13
Total capacity	192,000 acre⋅ft (0.237 km3)
Catchment area	85,500 sq mi (221,000 km2)
Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Show map of Illinois Show map of the United States
Location	4999 Lock Rd., Fulton, Illinois
Area	254.2 acres (102.9 ha)
Built	1939
Architect	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Architectural style	Moderne, Lock and Dam
MPS	Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Project MPS
NRHP reference No.	04000173[1]
Added to NRHP	March 10, 2004

The movable portion of the dam is 1,066 feet (324.9 m) long and consists of ten tainter gates and three roller gates. The non-movable portion of the dam continues toward the Iowa shore with a 200 feet (61.0 m) storage yard, a 728 feet (221.9 m) non-submersible dike, a 1,650 feet (502.9 m) submersible dike, and a 1,315 feet (400.8 m) non-submersible dike with two 90 feet (27.4 m) transitional sections between the submersible and non-submersible sections. There is also an 8,940 feet (2,724.9 m) non-submersible dike on the Illinois side east of the locks. The main lock is 110 feet (33.5 m) wide by 600 feet (182.9 m) long and like most other sites in the project, it has a smaller, unfinished, auxiliary lock.[2] In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District, #04000173 covering 2,542 acres (10.3 km²), 1 building, 6 structures, and 4 objects.

This lock and dam represent the man-made exit from the Driftless Area, where shipping has to travel a few feet above bedrock over the 9-foot (2.7 m) shipping channel. It's about 522 feet (159 m) above sea level.

Map of Lock and Dam No. 13