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Ottawa River
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- This is about the river in Canada. For other uses, see Ottawa River (disambiguation).
The Ottawa River (French: Rivière des Outaouais) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It defines for most of its length the border between these two provinces.
river rises from its source in Lake Capimitchigama in the Laurentian Mountains of central Quebec, flows west to Lake Timiskaming, where it begins defining the interprovincial border with Ontario.
From Lake Timiskaming the river flows southeast to Ottawa and Gatineau where it tumbles over the Chaudière Falls and further takes in the Rideau and Gatineau Rivers.
The Ottawa River drains into the Lake of Two Mountains and the St.
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Encyclopedia
- This is about the river in Canada. For other uses, see Ottawa River (disambiguation).
The Ottawa River (French: Rivière des Outaouais) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It defines for most of its length the border between these two provinces.
Geography
The river rises from its source in Lake Capimitchigama in the Laurentian Mountains of central Quebec, flows west to Lake Timiskaming, where it begins defining the interprovincial border with Ontario.
From Lake Timiskaming the river flows southeast to Ottawa and Gatineau where it tumbles over the Chaudière Falls and further takes in the Rideau and Gatineau Rivers.
The Ottawa River drains into the Lake of Two Mountains and the St. Lawrence River at Montreal. The total length of the river is 1,271 km, it drains an area of 146,300 km2, 65% in Quebec and the rest in Ontario, and with a mean discharge of 1,950 m3/s. The average annual mean waterflow measured at Carillon dam, near the Lake of Two Mountains, is 1,939 m3/s, with average annual extremes of 749 to 5,351 m3/s. Record historic levels since 1964 are a low of 529 in 2005 and a high of 8190 m3/s in 1976.
Major tributaries include:
- Notre-Dame-du-Nord, Quebec
- Ville-Marie, Quebec
- Témiscaming, Quebec
- Mattawa, Ontario
- Deux Rivières, Ontario
- Rapides-des-Joachims, Quebec
- Deep River, Ontario
- Sheenboro, Quebec
- Petawawa, Ontario
- Pembroke, Ontario
- Westmeath, Ontario
- Waltham, Quebec
- Fort-Coulonge, Quebec
- La Passe, Ontario
- Campbell's Bay, Quebec
- Portage-du-Fort, Quebec
- McNab/Braeside, Ontario
- Arnprior, Ontario
- Quyon, Quebec
- Aylmer, Quebec
- Hull, Quebec
- Ottawa, Ontario
| | Gatineau, QuebecOrléans, OntarioMasson-Angers, QuebecClarence-Rockland, OntarioThurso, QuebecPlaisance, QuebecPapineauville, QuebecMontebello, QuebecFassett, QuebecL'Orignal, OntarioGrenville, QuebecHawkesbury, OntarioCarillon, QuebecSaint-André-Est, QuebecRigaud, QuebecSaint-Placide, QuebecHudson, QuebecOka, QuebecVaudreuil-sur-le-Lac, QuebecVaudreuil-Dorion, QuebecPincourt, QuebecPointe-des-Cascades, Quebec |
Geology
The Ottawa River lies in the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben, which is a Mesozoic rift valley that formed 175 million years ago. Following the retreat of the glaciers from the area at the end of the last ice age, the valley was flooded by an arm of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Champlain Sea. Fossil remains of marine life have been found in marine clay formed during that time. Sediment deposits from this period have resulted in areas of poor drainage and the presence of large bogs in some ancient channels of this river. Another consequence was the formations of large deposits of a material commonly known as Leda clay; these deposits become highly unstable after heavy rains. Numerous landslides have occurred as a result. The former site of the town of Lemieux, Ontario collapsed into the South Nation River in 1993; however, the residents had already been relocated because of the suspected instability of the earth in that location.
Large numbers of Canada Geese, ducks, gulls and shorebirds take advantage of spring flooding and wetlands in the Ottawa River valley during migration. Ducks also overwinter in sections of the river that do not freeze over.
History
The river was an important trade route for the Algonquin people, who called it Kitchissippi, "Great River". Some early European explorers, possibly considering the Ottawa River to be more significant than the Upper St. Lawrence River, applied the name River Canada to the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River below the confluence at Montreal. As the extent of the Great Lakes became clear and the river began to be regarded as a tributary, it was variously known as the Grand River, "Great River" or Grand River of the Algonquins before the present name was settled upon. This name change resulted from the Ottawa peoples' control of the river circa 1685. However, only one band of Ottawa, the Kinouncherpirini or Keinouch, ever inhabited the Ottawa Valley.
In 1615, Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brûlé, assisted by Algonquin guides, were the first Europeans to travel up the Ottawa River and follow the water route west along the Mattawa and French Rivers to the Great Lakes. For the following two centuries, this route was used by French fur traders and voyageurs to Canada's interior.
In the early 19th century, the Ottawa River and its tributaries were used to gain access to large virgin forests of white pine. A booming trade in timber developed, and large rafts of logs were floated down the river. In 1832, following the War of 1812, the Ottawa River gained strategic importance when the Carillon Canal was completed. Together with the Rideau Canal, the Carillon Canal was constructed to provide an alternate military supply route to Kingston and Lake Ontario, bypassing the route along the Saint Lawrence River.
Several hydroelectric dams have been constructed on the river. As an economic route, its importance was eclipsed by railroad and highways in the 20th century. It is no longer used for log driving, however, it is still extensively used for recreational boating. Some 20,000 pleasure boaters visit the Carillon Canal annually.
Today, Outaouais Herald Emeritus at the Canadian Heraldic Authority is named after the river.
Hydroelectric installations
Hydroelectric installations on the Upper Ottawa (in downstream order):
| Installation | Type | Generating cap. | Year built | Name of reservoir | Operator |
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| Bourque Dam | Dam | n/a | 1949 | Dozois Reservoir | Hydro-Québec |
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| Rapide-7 | Generating station | 48 MW | 1941 / 1949 | Decelles Lake | Hydro-Québec |
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| Rapide-2 | Run of river g.s. | 48 MW | 1954 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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| Rapides-des-Quinze | Run of river g.s. | 95 MW | 1923 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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| Rapides-des-îles | Run of river g.s. | 147 MW | 1966 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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| Première-Chute | Run of river g.s. | 130 MW | 1968 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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Lower Ottawa (in downstream order):
| Installation | Type | Generating cap. | Year built | Name of reservoir | Operator |
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| Otto Holden | Run of river g.s. | 243 MW | 1952 | n/a | Ontario Power Generation |
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| Des Joachims | Run of river g.s. | 429 MW | 1950 | Holden Lake | Ontario Power Generation |
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| Bryson | Run of river g.s. | 61 MW | 1925 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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| Chenaux | Run of river g.s. | 144 MW | 1950 | n/a | Ontario Power Generation |
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| Chute-des-Chats (Chats Falls) | Run of river g.s. | 185 MW | 1931 | Lac des Chats | Hydro-Québec and OPG * |
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| Hull-2 | Run of river g.s. | 27 MW | 1920 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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| Carillon | Run of river g.s. | 752 MW | 1962 | n/a | Hydro-Québec |
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* ) Ontario Power Generation operates generators 2, 3, 4, and 5 with a capacity of 96 MW; and Hydro-Québec operates generators 6, 7, 8, and 9 with a capacity of 89 MW.
See also
External links
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