Leonardo da Vinci helped develop canal-lock designs for controlling water levels and boats.
A canal lock is an enclosed chamber with gates at both ends. By admitting or releasing water, it raises or lowers a boat between stretches of canal at different elevations. Leonardo studied hydraulic engineering in northern Italy and produced designs for locks, gates, and canals, including work connected with the waterways around Milan.
Leonardo did not invent every principle of the canal lock. Earlier examples existed in China and Europe, and Renaissance engineers built on established hydraulic knowledge. His importance lies in improving and documenting mechanisms that could make navigation more efficient and overcome changes in elevation.
A canal lock is not the same as an aqueduct, which carries water across an obstacle, or a dam, which stores or diverts water. Leonardo’s hydraulic drawings reveal how closely his inventions connected architecture, transport, agriculture, and military engineering.