The Cataraqui River forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal

Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...

 and drains into Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 at Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

. It is also known as the Great Cataraqui River or the Greater Cataraqui River to distinguish it from the smaller Little Cataraqui Creek

Little Cataraqui Creek

The Little Cataraqui Creek is a watercourse, much of which is a semi-urban wetland, that empties into Lake Ontario within the municipality of Kingston, Ontario, Canada...

, 4.5 km to the west. The Cataraqui River system was extensively modified during the construction of the canal: swamps were turned into lakes and new marshes were formed.

The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority administers water management concerns within the Cataraqui River watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

.

External links

• Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority