A single lock provides 2.6 feet (0.8 m) of lift. This lockstation also features one of only four blockhouses built on the Rideau Canal. The lift of the lock has decreased over time with the raising of water in Big Rideau Lake (by rebuilding the dam at Poonamlie) - it originally had a lift of 4.5 feet.
The lock is in an odd location, in the middle of a lake. It marks a natural narrowing of the lake, originally known as Upper Narrows, a long spit of land almost split the original Rideau Lake in two. Colonel By used this natural topographic feature to complete the job - building up the spit and adding a weir to raise the water of the upper section of Rideau Lake, forming two distinct lakes.
For a full history of the Narrows Lock see: History of the Narrows Lock
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