Lock passage
Rise and fall.
Daniel — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Avalon11 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Avalon11 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · MARCO AURÉLIO ESPARZ… — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Avalon11 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Avalon11 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Avalon11 — CC BY-SA 4.0
On the Tietê River between the towns of Barra Bonita and Igaraçu do Tietê, in central São Paulo state, stands a hydroelectric plant opened in 1963, with a 287-metre dam whose reservoir floods about 310 square kilometres. The lock opened on 29 December 1973 as part of the Tietê-Paraná waterway, letting vessels pass the drop created by the dam. It is 142 metres long and 11 metres wide with a 25-metre difference in level, and raising or lowering a boat takes only about twelve minutes; cargo barges and tourist boats both use it. The big draw is the sightseeing cruise through the lock, where passengers feel their boat rise or sink inside the chamber. Trips leave from the Barra Bonita waterfront near the old iron bridge, about fifty kilometres from Bauru.
Rise and fall.
Wide waters.
On the waterfront.
Barra Bonita Dam on the Tietê River, between Barra Bonita and Igaraçu do Tietê
It varies by operator and usually includes the lock one way or both; check the schedule.