Inland Waterway, a navigable lake, river, or canal, or any navigable combination of lakes, rivers, and canals. In the United States, major channels have a standard minimum depth of nine feet (2.7 m); others, six feet (1.8 m). The waterways are used by pleasure boats and by barges hauling bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and grain. They include the Great Lakes, the Intracoastal Waterway, the New York State Barge Canal, and the Mississippi-Ohio river system. The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.
Inland waterways were a major influence in the early development of the midwestern United States. After the Civil War, however, railway traffic increased while water transport declined.
Europe's most important inland waterway is the Rhine, which is connected by canals to other rivers. In Africa and Asia, traffic on rivers such as the Congo and Yangtze is of great economic importance because there are few railways or roads.
