Chain of Rocks Lock, also known as Locks No.

27, is a lock situated at the southern end

of Chouteau Island near St. Louis,Missouri on the Upper Mississippi River. Its associated dam is just
downstream of the Chain of Rocks Bridge, and the lock is located over 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast on
the Chain of Rocks canal. The canal and locks allow river traffic to bypass a portion of the river that
is unnavigable in low water due to an anticlinal exposure of bedrock in the rivera "chain of rocks".
The 1,200-foot (370 m) main lock and 600-foot (180 m) auxiliary lock were built in the late 1940s and
early 1950s to allow a by-pass of the Chain of Rocks lying in the main channel of the Mississippi
River. This stretch of river in low water seasons was treacherous for commercial tow boats and
barges, often requiring them to wait several days for the river to rise. The dam for lock 27 is atypical
for the Mississippi, being a weir made of tons of rock laid in the Mississippi to create a small pool
elevation upstream from the Chain of Rocks. The drop at Locks 27 can vary from a few feet to over a
ten foot drop depending on the river stage.