Muskrat Lake
Encyclopedia
Muskrat Lake is located in the Whitewater Region
of Renfrew County, Ontario
, Canada
. Said to be the home of lake monster Mussie
. Muskrat Lake drains into Muskrat River
. Other than a few cottages and campgrounds, Cobden
, is only one community on the lakes shore. Along its eastern shores is Sturgeon Mountain
Like many other lakes Muskrat Lake was formed about 10,000 years ago when the glaciers of the last ice age
receded. At that point it was superseded by the much larger Champlain Sea
. Due to glacial recession the sea was brackish, its salt levels rising and falling over the years making it somewhat salty and somewhat fresh. About 6,000 years ago the water level dropped and the champlain sea disappeared. Leaving behind the present day lakes and rivers.
speaking, tribes of North America
. The first European explorer to reach the area was Samuel de Champlain
and a description of his encounter with the natives survived from his chronicles:
In 1837 explorer David Thompson
set out to mark a route for a proposed canal from the Ottawa River
to Georgian Bay
. The canal was to travel up Muskrat River and through Muskrat Lake, but never materialized. Thwarted by lack of supplies, Thompson never completed his survey. By the 1850s Railways were more fashionable for transport and so interest in the idea fizzled. In the 1870s Muskrat Lake was being used as a means to avoid rapids in the Ottawa River
such as the Calumet rapids and the dangerous stretches of the river between Lac des Chats
and Coulonge Lake. This route, traveled by steamers
owned by Mr. Jason Gould
, led to the establishment of villages such as Beachburg which was founded in 1840 and Cobden
in 1849.
. Obviously though this has the opposite reaction on fishing enthusiast who come year round to catch pike, walleye
, pickerel
, and lake trout
. The municipal dock, located at the south end of the lake, is a regular meeting spot for bird watchers; who have caught sight of Franklin's Gull
among other birds.
Notable Tributaries Include:
Whitewater Region, Ontario
Whitewater Region is a township located within the scenic Ottawa Valley, in eastern Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River in Renfrew County. Whitewater Region is made up of the former municipalities of Beachburg, Cobden, Ross and Westmeath, which were amalgamated into the current township on January...
of Renfrew County, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Said to be the home of lake monster Mussie
Mussie
Mussie is an alleged sea monster reported to be living in Muskrat Lake, northwest of Ottawa, capital of Canada. The legend has gone a through a gradual image change over the years. In the past the creature was depicted with shameless wild exaggeration. Classified as a "hepaxalor" and endowed with...
. Muskrat Lake drains into Muskrat River
Muskrat River
The Muskrat River is a river in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada that flows into the Ottawa River at the city of Pembroke.-Course:The river begins at Edmunds Lake, one of the Champlain Trail Lakes and near the community of Garden of Eden, and heads northwest through other Champlain Trail lakes to...
. Other than a few cottages and campgrounds, Cobden
Cobden, Ontario
Cobden is a small community in the Township of Whitewater Region, in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between Renfrew, Ontario and Pembroke, Ontario on Highway 17...
, is only one community on the lakes shore. Along its eastern shores is Sturgeon Mountain
Like many other lakes Muskrat Lake was formed about 10,000 years ago when the glaciers of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
receded. At that point it was superseded by the much larger Champlain Sea
Champlain Sea
The Champlain Sea was a temporary inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, a paratropical subsea or epeiric sea created by the retreating glaciers during the close of the last ice age...
. Due to glacial recession the sea was brackish, its salt levels rising and falling over the years making it somewhat salty and somewhat fresh. About 6,000 years ago the water level dropped and the champlain sea disappeared. Leaving behind the present day lakes and rivers.
History
The Muskrat Lake region was originally inhabited by the Nibachis, a sub-division of the native, AlgonquinAlgonquin language
Algonquin is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of Quebec and Ontario...
speaking, tribes of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The first European explorer to reach the area was Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
and a description of his encounter with the natives survived from his chronicles:
- "...we reached a lake, six leagues long and two wide, very abundant in fish, the neighboring people doing their fishing there. Near this lake is a settlement of savages, who till the soil and gather harvests of maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. Their chief is named Nibachis, who came to visit us with his followers, astonished that we could have passed the falls and bad roads in order to reach them. After offering us tobacco, according to their custom, he began to address his companions, saying, that we must have fallen from the clouds, for he knew not how we could have made the journey, and that they who lived in the country had much trouble in traversing these bad ways: and he gave them to understand that I accomplished all that I set my mind upon; in short, that he believed respecting me all that the other savages had told him. Aware that we were hungry, he gave us some fish, which we ate, and after our meal I explained to him, through Thomas, our interpreter, the pleasure I had in meeting them, that I had come to this country to assist them in their wars, and that I desired to go still farther to see some other chiefs for the same object, at which they were glad and promised me assistance. They showed me their gardens and the fields, where they had maize. Their soil is sandy, for which reason they devote themselves more to hunting than to tillage..."
-
- --Samuel De Champlain
In 1837 explorer David Thompson
David Thompson (explorer)
David Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...
set out to mark a route for a proposed canal from the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
to Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
. The canal was to travel up Muskrat River and through Muskrat Lake, but never materialized. Thwarted by lack of supplies, Thompson never completed his survey. By the 1850s Railways were more fashionable for transport and so interest in the idea fizzled. In the 1870s Muskrat Lake was being used as a means to avoid rapids in the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
such as the Calumet rapids and the dangerous stretches of the river between Lac des Chats
Lac des Chats
Lac des Chats is a lake on the Ottawa River that forms the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec . It is formed by the Chats Falls dam and serves as the reservoir for the Chats Falls generating station...
and Coulonge Lake. This route, traveled by steamers
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
owned by Mr. Jason Gould
Jason Gould
Jason Emanuel Gould is an American actor, writer and director.Gould is the son of singer/actress Barbra Streisand and actor Elliott Gould, who divorced July 9, 1971. Gould spent his formative years around major Hollywood players in Los Angeles, California...
, led to the establishment of villages such as Beachburg which was founded in 1840 and Cobden
Cobden, Ontario
Cobden is a small community in the Township of Whitewater Region, in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between Renfrew, Ontario and Pembroke, Ontario on Highway 17...
in 1849.
Environment
Muskrat Lake has a thriving ecology which, to the disdain of local swimmers, encourages the growth of notoriously lush seaweedSeaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
. Obviously though this has the opposite reaction on fishing enthusiast who come year round to catch pike, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, pickerel
Pickerel
Pickerel may refer to:*Esox, the genus of fish commonly known as the pickerels which includes pike and muskellunge as well as other pickerel*American pickerel*Chain pickerel*Walleye, or Yellow Pickerel * Pickerel Frog...
, and lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
. The municipal dock, located at the south end of the lake, is a regular meeting spot for bird watchers; who have caught sight of Franklin's Gull
Franklin's Gull
The Franklin's Gull is a small gull.-Description:It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern United States...
among other birds.
Notable Tributaries Include:
- Snake River
- Muskrat RiverMuskrat RiverThe Muskrat River is a river in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada that flows into the Ottawa River at the city of Pembroke.-Course:The river begins at Edmunds Lake, one of the Champlain Trail Lakes and near the community of Garden of Eden, and heads northwest through other Champlain Trail lakes to...
Sources
- http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/8vcv310.txt
- Cobden Then And Now - By: George A. Wallace