A flight of eight canal locks, seen in the center to lower right corner of this photo, are the
northern end of the Rideau Canal (the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America)
and lower a boat 79 feet (24 m) from the canal down to the Ottawa River. Once the most dominant
feature of Ottawa, these locks are the reason for the founding of Ottawa and represent an amazing
engineering achievement in the middle of the Canadian wilderness of the early 19th century.

The stone house in the lower right corner is Ottawa's oldest stone building, built in 1827 as the
Commissariat of Lt. Colonel John By, supervisor of the canal's construction. The building was the
treasury and a storehouse during that period and is now the Bytown Museum.

The very classy Chateau Laurier, now the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, is the illuminated
building in the upper left corner. It is a landmark hotel and, among other notable things, was
for many years home to Yousuf Karsh, one of the world's most renowned portrait photographers.

Photographed in Ottawa, Ontario - the capital of Canada