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The Oswego River is also an integral part of the New York State Barge Canal, providing a route from the main canal into Lake Ontario. This section of the canal was completed in 1827, two years after completion of the Erie Canal. In 1917, as part of a general overhaul of the canal system, the Oswego Canal was deepened and refurbished. The canal is now 14 feet deep and has an overhead clearance of 20 feet.
The river connects Lake Onondaga by Syracuse, New York to Lake Ontario.
At its mouth at Lake Ontario, the river divides the City of Oswego just as it divides the City of Fulton a few miles upstream.
The river is famous for its salmon run in early autumn, followed by a steelhead run later in the fall.