List of canals in the United States
Canals in the United States include active, artificial waterways kept open for boating. Abandoned canals or drainage ditches that can be paddled in a small craft are not included. The U.S. also built the Panama Canal on territory it controlled.
Some names that include “canal” refer to natural inlets: Behm Canal, Duncan Canal, Lynn Canal, and Portland Canal in Alaska, and Hood Canal in Washington. These are not man-made canals.
In general, canals range from narrow irrigation or drainage ditches to large shipping or municipal water canals. States with large farming areas may have many canals.
USGS topographic maps often provide numbers and coordinates (latitude/longitude) for each canal to help locate them on digital maps.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:16 (CET).