# List of canals in the United States

The following is a list of canals in the United States:

## Transportation canals in operation

This list includes active canals and artificial waterways that are maintained for use by boats. Although some abandoned canals and drainage canals have stretches that can be paddled in a small craft, such as a canoe, they are not included in this list.
| Name | Place | State | Navigable length | Notes |
| Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal | Chesapeake | VA | 8.5 mi (13.7 km) | Two canals 30 miles (48 km) apart in two states |
| Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal | Currituck County | NC | 5.5 mi (8.9 km) | Two canals 30 miles (48 km) apart in two states |
| Alligator–Pungo Canal | Hyde County, Tyrell County | NC | 22 mi (35 km) | |
| Assawoman Canal | Sussex County | DE | 4 mi (6.4 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway | East Coast | | | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Augusta Canal | Augusta; Columbia County | GA | 6.8 mi (10.9 km) | Not navigable to other waterways |
| Bricktown Canal | Bricktown | OK | 1 mi (1.6 km) | Has water taxi service. Not navigable to other waterways |
| Barkley Canal | Lyon County | KY | 1.25 mi (2.01 km) | |
| Cal-Sag Channel | Cook County | IL | 16 mi (26 km) | Part of the Illinois Waterway |
| Calcasieu Ship Channel | Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish | LA | 36.5 mi (58.7 km) | |
| Canaveral Barge Canal | Merritt Island | FL | 6 mi (9.7 km) | |
| Cape Cod Canal | Barnstable County | MA | 7 mi (11 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Cape May Canal | Cape May County | NJ | 3.3 mi (5.3 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Cayuga–Seneca Canal | Seneca County | NY | 20 mi (32 km) | |
| Chain of Rocks Canal | Madison County | IL | 9 mi (14 km) | The most downstream lock on the Upper Mississippi River |
| Champlain Canal | Upstate New York | NY | 60 mi (97 km) | |
| Chesapeake & Delaware Canal | Cecil County | MD | 14 mi (23 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Chesapeake & Delaware Canal | New Castle County | DE | 14 mi (23 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal | Cook County, Will County | IL | 28 mi (45 km) | Part of the Illinois Waterway |
| Clam Lake Canal | Cadillac | MI | 0.33 mi (0.53 km) | |
| Corpus Christi Ship Channel | Corpus Christi | TX | | |
| Cumberland and Oxford Canal | Naples | ME | 0.04 mi (0.064 km) | Only the Songo Lock is still in use |
| Delcambre Canal | Iberia Parish | LA | 12 mi (19 km) | |
| Dismal Swamp Canal | Chesapeake | VA | 22 mi (35 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Dismal Swamp Canal | Camden County | NC | 22 mi (35 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Duluth Ship Canal | Duluth | MN | 0.33 mi (0.53 km) | |
| Erie Canal | Upstate New York | NY | 363 mi (584 km) | |
| Galveston and Brazos Canal | Brazoria County | TX | | |
| Gowanus Canal | Brooklyn | NY | 1.8 mi (2.9 km) | |
| Great Lakes Waterway | Great Lakes region | | | Has many branches. Reaches into Canada |
| Gulf Intracoastal Waterway | Gulf Coast | | 1,050 mi (1,690 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Harlem River Ship Canal | New York | NY | 8 mi (13 km) | Now indistinguishable from the Harlem River |
| Haulover Canal | Brevard County | FL | 1.25 mi (2.01 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Houston Ship Channel | Houston | TX | 50 mi (80 km) | |
| Illinois Waterway | Northern and Central Illinois | IL | 336 mi (541 km) | |
| Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal | East Chicago | IN | 6.75 mi (10.86 km) | Has two branches |
| Industrial Canal (Inner Harbor Navigation Canal) | New Orleans | LA | 5.5 mi (8.9 km) | |
| Intracoastal Waterway | | | 3,000 mi (4,800 km) | Consists of many canals and natural waterbodies |
| Keweenaw Waterway | Houghton County | MI | 24.5 mi (39.4 km) | |
| Lake Washington Ship Canal | Seattle | WA | 8 mi (13 km) | |
| Lauritzen Canal | Richmond | CA | 0.32 mi (0.51 km) | |
| Lechmere Canal | East Cambridge | MA | 0.2 mi (0.32 km) | |
| Lewes and Rehoboth Canal | Sussex County | DE | 9 mi (14 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Louisville and Portland Canal | Louisville | KY | 2 mi (3.2 km) | |
| Matagorda Ship Channel | Matagorda County | TX | 2 mi (3.2 km) | |
| McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System | | AR | 445 mi (716 km) | |
| McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System | Eastern Oklahoma | OK | 445 mi (716 km) | |
| Ogden Slip | Chicago | IL | 0.35 mi (0.56 km) | |
| Okeechobee Waterway | South Florida | FL | 154 mi (248 km) | |
| Oswego Canal | Oswego County | NY | 23.7 mi (38.1 km) | |
| Point Pleasant Canal | Point Pleasant | NJ | 2 mi (3.2 km) | Part of the Intracoastal Waterway |
| Port Townsend Ship Canal | Jefferson County | WA | 0.9 mi (1.4 km) | |
| Portage Lake Canal | Houghton County | MI | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | Part of Keweenaw Waterway |
| Sabine–Neches Waterway | Southeast Texas | TX | 64 mi (103 km) | |
| Sabine–Neches Waterway | Calcasieu Parish | LA | 64 mi (103 km) | |
| Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel | Solano County, Yolo County | CA | 43 mi (69 km) | |
| Smith Canal | Stockton | CA | 2.4 mi (3.9 km) | |
| St. Clair Flats Canal | Clay Township | MI | | |
| St. Lawrence Seaway | Jefferson County, St. Lawrence County | NY | 370 mi (600 km) | Spans into Canada |
| St. Lucie Canal (C-44) | Martin County | FL | 26 mi (42 km) | Part of the Okeechobee Waterway |
| Stockton Channel | Stockton | CA | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | |
| Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel | San Joaquin County, Contra Costa County | CA | 41 mi (66 km) | |
| Shinnecock Canal | Hampton Bays | NY | 0.9 mi (1.4 km) | |
| St. Marys Falls Canal (Soo Locks) | Sault Ste. Marie | MI | 2 mi (3.2 km) | Part of the Great Lakes Waterway |
| Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal | Door County | WI | 1.3 mi (2.1 km) | |
| Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway | Northeast Mississippi | MS | 234 mi (377 km) | |
| Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway | Southwest Alabama | AL | 234 mi (377 km) | |
| Victoria Barge Canal | Victoria County, Calhoun County | TX | 35 mi (56 km) | |
| West Neebish Channel | Chippewa County | MI | 6 mi (9.7 km) | Part of the Great Lakes Waterway |
| Wiley-Dondero Canal | St. Lawrence County | NY | 9.2 mi (14.8 km) | Part of the St. Lawrence Seaway |
The United States also built the Panama Canal on territory it controlled.

## Abandoned transportation canals

| Name | State | Opened | Closed | Length | Notes |
| Alexandria Canal | VA | 1843 | 1886 | 7 mi (11 km) | |
| Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation | PA | 1837 | 1865 | | |
| Baillie-Grohman Canal | WA | 1889 | 1902? | 5,049 ft (1,539 m) | |
| Bank's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Beardstown and Sangamon Canal | IL | | | | |
| Beaver and Erie Canal | PA | 1844 | 1872 | 136 mi (219 km) | Part of the Pennsylvania Canal |
| Bellows Falls Canal | VT | 1802 | 1858 | | |
| Black River Canal | NY | 1855 | 1925 | 35 mi (56 km) | |
| Blackstone Canal | RI | 1828 | 1848 | 45 mi (72 km) | |
| Blackstone Canal | MA | 1828 | 1848 | 45 mi (72 km) | |
| Brunswick–Altamaha Canal | GA | 1854 | 1860 | 12 mi (19 km) | |
| Cascade Locks and Canal | OR | 1896 | 1938 | | |
| Cascade Locks and Canal | WA | 1896 | 1938 | | |
| Celilo Canal | OR | 1915 | 1957 | | |
| Celilo Canal | WA | 1915 | 1957 | | |
| Chemung Canal | NY | 1833 | 1878 | | |
| Chenango Canal | NY | 1836 | 1878 | 97 mi (156 km) | |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | MD | 1830 | 1924 | 184.5 mi (296.9 km) | |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | DC | 1830 | 1924 | 184.5 mi (296.9 km) | |
| Clinton–Kalamazoo Canal | MI | 1843 | | 13 mi (21 km) | Partially completed |
| Codorus Navigation | PA | 1832 | 1850 | 11 mi (18 km) | |
| Colbert Shoals Canal | AL | | | | Flooded by Pickwick Lake |
| Columbia Canal | SC | 1824 | | | Now used for hydroelectic power |
| Conestoga Navigation | PA | 1826 | | 18 mi (29 km) | |
| Conewago Canal | PA | 1797 | | 1 mi (1.6 km) | |
| Cross Florida Barge Canal | FL | | | 30 mi (48 km) | Partially completed |
| Culpeper Gold Mine Canal | VA | | | | |
| Cumberland and Oxford Canal | ME | 1832 | 1873 | 38 mi (61 km) | Songo Lock remains open |
| Deep Run Canal | VA | | | | |
| Delaware and Hudson Canal | PA | 1828 | 1917 | 108 mi (174 km) | |
| Delaware and Hudson Canal | NY | 1828 | 1917 | 108 mi (174 km) | |
| Delaware and Raritan Canal | NJ | 1834 | 1932 | 66 mi (106 km) | |
| Delaware Canal | PA | 1832 | 1931 | 60 mi (97 km) | Part of the Pennsylvania Canal |
| Des Moines Rapids Canal | IA | | | | |
| Enfield Falls Canal | CT | 1829 | | 5.25 mi (8.45 km) | |
| Farmington Canal (New Haven and Northampton Canal) | CT | 1828 | 1847 | 56 mi (90 km) | Continued into Massachusetts as the Hampshire and Hampden Canal |
| Ficklin's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Fox–Wisconsin Waterway | WI | | | | Partially restored |
| Franklin Line | PA | 1833 | 1837 | 22 mi (35 km) | Part of the Pennsylvania Canal |
| Fredericksburg Canal | VA | | | | |
| Genesee Valley Canal | NY | 1840 | 1878 | 124 mi (200 km) | |
| Hampshire and Hampden Canal | MA | | 1847 | 30 mi (48 km) | Continued into Connecticut as the Farmington Canal |
| Hennepin Canal | IL | 1907 | | 75.2 mi (121.0 km) | |
| Hocking Canal | OH | 1841 | 1890 | 56 mi (90 km) | |
| Illinois and Michigan Canal | IL | 1848 | 1933 | 96 mi (154 km) | |
| Indiana Central Canal | IN | | | 8 mi (13 km) | Partially completed |
| James River and Kanawha Canal | VA | | | | Only Virginia portion completed |
| Junction Canal | PA | 1854 | 1871 | 18 mi (29 km) | |
| Junction Canal | NY | 1854 | 1871 | 18 mi (29 km) | |
| Landsford Canal | SC | 1823 | | 2 mi (3.2 km) | |
| Lehigh Canal | PA | 1821 | 1942 | 72 mi (116 km) | A mule-drawn tourist barge operates at the National Canal Museum |
| Leiper Canal | PA | 1829 | 1852 | 3 mi (4.8 km) | |
| Love Canal | NY | | | | |
| Main Line of Public Works | PA | | | | |
| Miami Canal | FL | | | | |
| Miami and Erie Canal | OH | 1844 | 1913 | 274 mi (441 km) | |
| Middlesex Canal | MA | 1803 | 1851 | 27 mi (43 km) | |
| Milan Canal | OH | 1839 | 1868 | | |
| Mississippi River–Gulf Outlet Canal | LA | 1968 | 2009 | 76 mi (122 km) | |
| Morris Canal | NJ | 1829 | 1924 | 107 mi (172 km) | |
| Muscle Shoals Canal | AL | | | | Drowned under Wilson Lake? |
| Ohio and Erie Canal | OH | 1827 | 1913 | 308 mi (496 km) | |
| Patowmack Canal (Potomac Canal) | MD | 1795 | 1828 | | Consists of the Little Falls Canal, Great Falls Canal, Seneca Falls Canal, Payne's Falls Canal, and House Falls Canal |
| Patowmack Canal (Potomac Canal) | VA | 1795 | 1828 | | Consists of the Little Falls Canal, Great Falls Canal, Seneca Falls Canal, Payne's Falls Canal, and House Falls Canal |
| Pawtucket Canal | MA | 1796 | | | |
| Pennsylvania Canal | PA | | | | |
| Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal | PA | 1840 | 1877 | 82 mi (132 km) | |
| Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal | OH | 1840 | 1877 | 82 mi (132 km) | |
| Portage Canal | WI | 1876 | 1951 | 2 mi (3.2 km) | |
| Powell's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Rapidan Dam Canal of the Rappahannock Navigation | VA | | | | |
| Sandy and Beaver Canal | PA | 1848 | 1852 | 73 mi (117 km) | |
| Sandy and Beaver Canal | OH | 1848 | 1852 | 73 mi (117 km) | |
| Santee Canal | SC | 1800 | 1865 | 22 mi (35 km) | |
| Savannah Ogeechee Canal | GA | | | | |
| Schuylkill Navigation | PA | 1825 | 1931 | 108 mi (174 km) | |
| Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company | PA | | | | |
| Delaware and Schuylkill Navigation Company | PA | | | | |
| Skinker's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Snake Castle Canal | VA | | | | |
| South Hadley Canal | MA | 1795 | | | |
| Spring Valley Canal | VA | | | | |
| Susquehanna Canal | MD | 1802 | 1840 | 9 mi (14 km) | |
| Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal | PA | 1840 | 1894 | 43 mi (69 km) | |
| Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal | MD | 1840 | 1894 | 43 mi (69 km) | |
| Suwannee Canal | GA | | | | |
| Taylor's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Union Canal | PA | 1828 | 1885 | 82 mi (132 km) | |
| Wabash and Erie Canal | OH | 1843 | 1874 | 460 mi (740 km) | |
| Wabash and Erie Canal | IN | 1843 | 1874 | 460 mi (740 km) | |
| Walhonding Canal | OH | 1842 | 1896 | 25 mi (40 km) | |
| Warren County Canal | OH | 1840 | 1848 | 20 mi (32 km) | |
| Washington City Canal | DC | 1815 | | | |
| Wheatley's Canal | VA | | | | |
| Whitewater Canal | IN | 1839 | | 76 mi (122 km) | |
| Wiconisco Canal | PA | 1845 | 1889 | 12 mi (19 km) | |

## Irrigation, industrial, and drainage canals
### Alaska

* Davidson Ditch

### Arizona

* Central Arizona Project
* Salt River Project Canals
** Arizona Canal
* Yuma Project Canals

### California

* All-American Canal
* Back Channel
* Beardsley Canal
* Buena Vista Canal
* California Aqueduct
* Calloway Canal
* Carrier Canal
* Coachella Canal
* Colorado River Aqueduct
* Contra Costa Canal
* Corning Canal
* Delta–Mendota Canal
* Eastside Canal
* Folsom South Canal
* Friant-Kern Canal
* Glenn Colusa Canal
* Inter-California Canal
* Kern Island Canal
* Los Angeles Aqueduct
* Madera Canal
* Orland South Canal
* Orland North Canal
* Pioneer Canal
* Putah South Canal
* Stine Canal
* Tehama Colusa Canal

### Florida

* Hillsboro Canal
* Miami Canal
* North New River Canal
* Tamiami Canal
* West Palm Beach Canal

### Hawaii

* Ala Wai Canal, Honolulu
* Waiolama Canal, Hilo

### Idaho

* New York Canal

### Illinois

* North Shore Channel (popular for canoeing and kayaking)

### Louisiana

* 17th Street Canal
* Carondelet Canal
* Florida Canal
* London Avenue Canal
* New Orleans Outfall Canals
* Orleans Canal
* Washington-Palmetto Canal

### Massachusetts

* Holyoke Canal System
* Lowell Power Canal System

### Michigan

* Edison Sault Power Canal

### Nebraska

* Loup Canal

### New Jersey

* Cape May Canal
* Delaware and Raritan Canal
* Dundee Canal
* Morris Canal
* Point Pleasant Canal
* Raritan Water Power Canal
* Washington Canal

### Texas

* American Canal
* Franklin Canal
* Riverside Canal (El Paso)
* Texas Irrigation Canals

### Washington

* Banks Lake Feeder Canal
* Centralia Canal
* Tieton Main Canal
* Yelm Ditch (defunct)

## Natural inlets called canals

Behm Canal, Duncan Canal, Lynn Canal, and Portland Canal in Alaska, and Hood Canal in Washington are natural inlets that use the name canal.

## Canals by state

These are man made canals in each state that have been given a name and may consist of a narrow irrigation or drainage ditch to a large ship, municipal water and/or irrigation canal. States with extensive agricultural acreage may have many hundred to thousands of canals. USGS Topographical map numbers and latitudes and longitudes of each canal, usable as inputs into Google, Bing, etc. maps, are usually given.