Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence River is a large west-to-east flowing
river in the middle latitudes of
North America, connecting the
Great Lakes with the
Atlantic Ocean. It is called
Kaniatarowanenneh in Mohawk. It traverses the
Canadian province of Qubec and forms part of its provincial boundary with
Ontario and part of the
international boundary with the
U.S. state of
New York.
Encyclopedia
The
Saint Lawrence River is a large west-to-east flowing
river in the middle latitudes of
North America, connecting the
Great Lakes with the
Atlantic Ocean. It is called
Kaniatarowanenneh in Mohawk. It traverses the
Canadian province of
Québec and forms part of its provincial boundary with
Ontario and part of the
international boundary with the
U.S. state of
New York.
Scope
The Saint Lawrence River is born at the outflow of
Lake Ontario at
Kingston, Ontario. From there, it passes
Brockville,
Cornwall,
Montréal,
Trois-Rivières, and
Québec City before draining into the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the largest
estuary in the world. It runs 3,058 kilometers from the furthest headwater to the mouth . The furthest headwater is the North River, Mesabi Range,
Minnesota. Its drainage area, which includes the
Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of fresh water lakes, has a size of 1.03 million km². The average discharge at the mouth is 10,400 m³/s.
The river includes
Lake Saint-Louis south of Montreal, Lac Saint-François at
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Lac Saint-Pierre east of Montreal. It surrounds such islands as the
Thousand Islands near Kingston, the
Island of Montreal, Île Jésus , Île d'Orléans near Québec City, and
Anticosti Island north of the Gaspé.
Lake Champlain and the
Ottawa,
Richelieu, and
Saguenay rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.
History
The first European to navigate the St. Lawrence was
Jacques Cartier, who on 9 June 1534 first sighted the river and also claimed
New France for
Francis I. Until the early 1600s, the French used the name
Rivière du Canada to designate the Saint Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The Saint Lawrence River served as the main route for exploration of the North American interior from Europe.
The St. Lawrence was formerly continuously navigable only as far as Montreal due to the
Lachine Rapids. The
Lachine Canal was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids; the
Saint Lawrence Seaway, an extensive system of canals and locks, now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to
Lake Superior.
In the late 1970's, the river was the subject of a successful environmental campaign ,
originally responding to planned development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The campaign was organised, among others, by
Abbie Hoffman, who at the time was on the run under the
pseudonym of Barry Freed.
Names
A note on translation: Occasionally, the French name
fleuve Saint-Laurent is wrongly translated as Saint Lawrence Seaway, on the idea that it uses the word
fleuve, not
rivière. However, the word
fleuve means a large river, which runs to the ocean or sea. There is no word in English that distinguishes this type of a river from others, and thus is appropriately translated by
river. The seaway is a system of artificial canals, and is called in French
la voie maritime du Saint-Laurent.
The source of the North River in the Mesabi Range in
Minnesota is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:
Crossings
See
List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence RiverLiterature
The St-Lawrence River is at the heart of many Québec novels , poems , and songs . The river has also been portrayed in paintings, notably by the Group of Seven. In addition, the river is the namesake of
Saint-Laurent Herald at the
Canadian Heraldic Authority.
See also
External links
- — Historical essay, illustrated with drawings and photographs
- See Great Lakes; St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Peace Palace Libray
