Once called a "folly" because it was thought to be doomed to fail, the Erie Canal was a smashing success after its completion in 1825. It provided an east-to-west waterway between Lake Erie and the Hudson River through New York, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Its impact on the American economy and western expansion and settlement is well documented. This volume, which supports both history and STEM elementary curricula, celebrates this work of human ingenuity. It offers accessible information about the canal from idea, through its construction, to its many uses. Fact boxes, sidebars, and historical images support and enhance the at-level text.