Tasking: The target is an event at a location. Basic: Describe the activity and/or the event Intermediate: Describe details of both the location and the activity Advanced: Describe scalar information such as physical measureents, time durations, etc. http://www.myballard.com/ballard-locks-seattle/ Boats as large as 760 feet in length and as small as a kayak can travel through the locks. This is the large boat lock. Once in the lock, the water level drops as much as 26 feet to bring the boats even with Puget Sound. The fresh water is exchanged with salt water. Ten to fifteen minutes after the process began, the boats are on their way. During busy times, though, long lines of boats form on either side of the locks. ================ http://www.yelp.com/biz/hiram-m-chittenden-locks-seattle Yelp.com (300+ pictures) ================ http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/LocksandDams/ChittendenLocks.aspx Army Corps of Engineers website Construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks was completed in 1917 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Connecting the waters of Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Salmon Bay to the tidal waters of Puget Sound, the canal and locks allow recreational and commercial vessels to travel to the docks and warehouses of Seattle's busy fresh water harbor. The complex of locks sit in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.) The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes: To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level. To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion). To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa. The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 150 ft, 8.5 x 45.7 meter) and a large (80 x 825, 24.4 x 251.5 meter). The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 meter) spillway with six (32 x 12-foot (3.7 m), 9.8 x 3.7 meter) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon. The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. ================= http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ballard-locks-readied-for-25-million-gallon-refill/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news Ballard Locks readied for 25 million-gallon refill Originally published November 25, 2015 at 6:33 pm Updated November 26, 2015 at 1:19 pm Every November the large lock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks is emptied for maintenance. By Alan Berner Seattle Times staff photographer Every November the large lock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks is emptied for maintenance. The large lock is 825 feet long and 80 feet wide and when filled, it takes about 25 million gallons. Refilling is expected to begin Friday morning. The locks connect the fresh water of Seattle’s Lake Washington, Lake Union and Salmon Bay to the salty tidal waters of Puget Sound and consists of two sets of locks, a spillway and a fish ladder. Alan Berner PICTURES: Jeff Woerth, with the 555th Engineer Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, emerges from a passage that normally carries water into and out the large lock at the Ballard Locks, officially the Hiram M. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) The empty lock provides an opportunity for crows to feed on barnacles. The 825-foot-long lock is 80 feet wide and 55 feet deep and holds about 25 million gallons of water. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Mechanical engineer Jeff Woerth photographs a riveted steel gate at the Ballard Locks. The large lock is empty for its annual maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Nate McGowan, operations project manager at the Ballard Locks, checks an entry hatch into a space where a value repair is taking place Wednesday. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Jeff Woerth, with the 555th Engineer Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, leaves a filling culvert for the large lock at the Ballard Locks, which is empty for maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) The century-old lock gates at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are riveted steel. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) An old, rusted shovel is revealed in a niche at the bottom of the large lock, emptied for annual maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Joey Cavallaro, left, and Steven Hansen use a manual wheel for fine adjustments and because it’s safer than using the electric motor during maintenance of a valve at the large lock. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) In a deep pit at the Ballard Locks, gate valves are repaired during the annual November maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Crows feed on shellfish at the bottom of the large Ballard lock, emptied for annual maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Jeff Woerth enters a filling culvert in the large lock in Ballard. Every November the large lock is emptied for maintenance. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Crows fly over the empty large lock at the Ballard Locks where shellfish have been revealed for them to eat. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) The saltwater barrier, center-left, is lowered during the annual November maintenance at the large lock at the Ballard Locks. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times) Nate McGowan, left, and Jeff Woerth check the empty large lock at the Ballard Locks on Wednesday. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)