Misplaced Pages

#78921

51-524: The Lake formed from the aggregation of Glacial Lakes Houghton , Chippewa and Hough , and Stanley as water levels increased. Levels returned and Lake Chippewa again flowed through the canyon at Mackinac until around 7,500 YBP. At that time, the waters in the Michigan basin, Huron basin, and the Superior basin created a single lake encompassing all three of the upper Great Lakes . The lowlands through

102-518: A capacity of 96 MW; and Hydro-Québec operates generators 6, 7, 8, and 9 with a capacity of 89 MW. Numerous non-contiguous areas of the Ottawa River and its shores are protected in a variety of provincial parks, conservation areas, and municipal parks. In Quebec, there are 3 national parks directly along the Ottawa River ( Oka National Park , Plaisance National Park , and Opémican National Park ), as well as one major nature reserve through which

153-628: A low of 467 m /s (16,500 cu ft/s) in 2010 and a high of 9,094 m /s (321,200 cu ft/s) in 2017. The river flows through large areas of deciduous and coniferous forest formed over thousands of years as trees recolonized the Ottawa Valley after the ice age. Generally, the coniferous forests and blueberry bogs occur on old sand plains left by retreating glaciers, or in wetter areas with clay substrate. The deciduous forests, dominated by birch, maple, beech, oak and ash occur in more mesic areas with better soil, generally around

204-427: Is 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 m) high and the bench a quarter of a mile (half kilometer) wide. The beach is a wave-cut bench that carries ridges to the mouth of Tawas River . Through Tawas and East Tawas and beyond to Au Sable River it is a low, broad ridge of sand and gravel a half a mile to a mile wide. From East Tawas it lies generally about a mile (1.5 km) back from the shore. In the Michigan and Huron basins

255-670: Is in the Township of Whitewater Region , Ontario, protecting a series of pristine islands and a small undeveloped section of shoreline along the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. This section of the Ottawa River is known for its whitewater , and is used by a number of commercial rafting companies and many recreational kayakers and canoeists. The park is a non-operating park, meaning that there are no services and facilities for visitors. The park can be used for backcountry camping, whitewater canoeing, swimming, hunting, and fishing. Some of

306-674: Is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border between these two provinces. It is a major tributary of the St. Lawrence River and the longest river in Quebec. The river rises at Lac des Outaouais, north of the Laurentian Mountains of central Quebec, and flows west to Lake Timiskaming . From there its route has been used to define

357-502: The St. Lawrence to the ocean. Mattawa River is a chain of lakes. Some of the lakes are long, narrow, and deep, lying in canyon-like valleys 200 feet (61 m) to 300 feet (91 m)wide, with water 100 feet (30 m) to 300 feet (91 m) deep. The canyons are 100 feet (30 m) or more high. A few places along this route show a scoured bed that would require a similar volume and velocity of water movement as St. Clair River today. In

408-655: The French River which later became a link in the historic canoe route to the West. As it does to this day, the river played a vital role in life of the Algonquin people , who lived throughout its watershed at contact. The river is called Kichisìpi , meaning "Great River" in Anicinàbemowin , the Algonquin language. The Algonquin define themselves in terms of their position on the river, referring to themselves as

459-694: The Lake Michigan basin. The waters drained through the Straits of Mackinac , then across Lake Stanley into either Lake Hough and then to the St. Lawrence River by way of the Ottawa River valley, or through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers to an Early Lake Erie and out the Niagara River towards the St. Lawrence. Around 10,300 YBP, Lake Chippewa’s levels continued to drop, and the basin

510-532: The Ottawa River . After the formation of the true Nipissing beach isostatic rebound elevated the region. This lowered the water plane on the north side of the basin and raised it on the south side. Thus the beach from the earlier stage of the Nipissing Great Lakes in the south was flooded and destroyed. Only the area in the northeast corner of Lake Superior still retains remnants of this first or original Nipissing beach. The point of elevation or

561-637: The Rapide de la Veillée , the Trou , the Rapide des Deux Rivières , and the Rapide de la Roche Capitaine . (These rapids are now submerged under the reservoir of Holden Lake.) In 1800, explorer Daniel Harmon reported 14 crosses marking the deaths of voyageurs who had drowned in the dangerous waters along this section of the Ottawa. The main trading posts along the river were: Lachine , Fort Coulonge , Lac des Allumettes , Mattawa House , where west-bound canoes left

SECTION 10

#1732780227079

612-711: The St. Lawrence River valley and Lake Champlain , had been depressed to below sea level by the glacier's weight, filled with sea water. The resulting arm of the ocean is known as the Champlain Sea . Fossil remains of marine life dating 12 to 10 thousand years ago have been found in marine clay throughout the region. Sand deposits from this era have produced vast plains, often dominated by pine forests, as well as localized areas of sand dunes, such as Westmeath and Constance Bay. Clay deposits from this period have resulted in areas of poor drainage, large swamps, and peat bogs in some ancient channels of this river. Hence,

663-529: The Algonquin divides into several ridges, the Nipissing beach will be one these ridges. In the Superior basin where any considerable width of beach deposits intervenes between the Nipissing and the present shore it is likely to be occupied by rather light beach ridges set very close together, with the Nipissing beach as the uppermost. Where the Algonquin is represented by several ridges, the Algonquin beaches are heavier and less sandy (i.e., pebbly or gravelly) than

714-850: 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. See Canadian Canoe Routes (early) . For the following two centuries, this route was used by French fur traders , voyageurs and coureurs des bois to Canada's interior. The river posed serious hazards to these travellers. The section near Deux Rivières used to have spectacular and wild rapids, namely

765-520: The Micmac beach, extends for 200 miles (320 km)below Quebec along the south side of the lower St. Lawrence. It is strong and continuous between Quebec and Ste. Anne de Beaupre . It is 20 feet (6.1 m) above the level of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is horizontal. Wave action at this level was evidently powerful and prolonged, for the sea cliff is in places 100 feet (30 m)high, cut in shale, and

816-402: The Nipissing and lower beaches complete the filling of the old bay and bring the shore to a straight line. From Bay City northward to Saginaw, where the hinge line of the Algonquin and Nipissing beaches crosses the west shore of Saginaw Bay , the Nipissing beaches are sandy ridges 0.5 to 1 mile (0.80 to 1.61 km) from the lakeshore. A mile or two north of Alabaster the cliff back of the beach

867-424: The Nipissing. Along the east side of the Michigan ‘thumb’ the Nipissing beach has been cut away by the present lake. This is most noticeable along the east side of the "thumb" north of Port Huron, and on both sides of Lake Michigan, and on the east side of Lake Huron. A shallow bay between Port Huron and Lakeport has a faint Algonquin beach at its back and a stronger one a mile (2 km) farther west. Outside of these

918-608: The Omàmiwinini, 'down-river people'. Although a majority of the Algonquin First Nation lives in Quebec, the entire Ottawa Valley is Algonquin traditional territory. Present settlement is a result of adaptations made as a result of settler pressures. 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

969-661: 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,

1020-570: The Ottawa River include (in down-stream order): The Ottawa River lies in the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben , which is a Mesozoic rift valley that formed 175 million years ago. Much of the river flows through the Canadian Shield, although lower areas flow through limestone plains and glacial deposits. As the glacial ice sheet began to retreat at the end of the last ice age , the Ottawa River valley, which, along with

1071-553: The Straits of Mackinac, where there was a narrow channel which conveyed the lake's outflow over the now submerged Mackinac Falls to Lake Stanley . Its shoreline ranged from 10–30 miles (16–48 km) out from the present day Lake Michigan shore. Ottawa River The Ottawa River ( French : Rivière des Outaouais , Algonquin : Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec . It

SECTION 20

#1732780227079

1122-559: The Westmeath sand dune/wetland complex, Mississippi Snye, Breckenridge Nature Reserve, Shirleys Bay, Ottawa Beach/Andrew Haydon Park, Petrie Island, the Duck Islands and Greens Creek. The Westmeath sand dune/wetland complex is significant for its relatively pristine sand dunes, few of which remain along the Ottawa River, and the many associated rare plants. Shirleys Bay has a biologically diverse shoreline alvar, as well as one of

1173-520: The boundary with the La Varendrye Park. These primeval forests were occasionally affected by natural fire, mostly started by lightning, which led to increased reproduction by pine and oak, as well as fire barrens and their associated species. The vast areas of pine were exploited by early loggers. Later generations of logging removed hemlock for use in tanning leather, leaving a permanent deficit of hemlock in most forests. Associated with

1224-494: The deformed portion of the Nipissing beach appears, as already stated to hinge on the same line as the Algonquin. South of the hinge line in both basins the Nipissing beach has an altitude of 595 feet (181 m)to 597 feet (182 m), the average being about 596 feet (182 m). The altitude of Lake Huron is taken as 581 feet (177 m). During the time of the Nipissing Great Lakes Lake St. Clair

1275-506: The distribution of forests and wetlands is very much a product of these past glacial events. Large deposits of a material commonly known as Leda clay also formed. 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. The town's residents had previously been relocated because of

1326-509: The dominant plant species in them: Scirpus , Eleocharis , Sparganium and Typha . Which type occurs in a particular location depends upon factors such as substrate type, water depth, ice-scour and fertility. Inland, and mostly south of the river, older river channels, which date back to the end of the ice age, and no longer have flowing water, have sometimes filled with a different wetland type, peat bog. Examples include Mer Bleue and Alfred Bog. Major tributaries include: Communities along

1377-422: The early part of this closing two-outlet stage a small discharge went by way of Illinois River at Chicago . The basin there is only 8 feet (2.4 m) and the Nipissing beach is 15 feet (4.6 m) above the modern lake. The small discharge would have ended when the outlet at Port Huron had cut down 3 feet (0.91 m) or 4 feet (1.2 m). The low water beaches were submerged through most of their range as

1428-460: The gorge. Since the opening of the St. Clair outlet there has been continuous flow in the present direction, and the outlet has suffered a slight deepening which has lowered the lake level perhaps 14 feet (4.3 m). The beach at 596 feet (182 m) in the southern end of the Huron basin seems to have been occupied by Lake Nipissing as well as by the late stage of Lake Algonquin, so the lowering of

1479-563: The interprovincial border with Ontario. From Lake Timiskaming, the river flows southeast to Ottawa and Gatineau , where it tumbles over 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 river is 1,271 km (790 mi) long; it drains an area of 146,300 km (56,500 sq mi), 65 per cent in Quebec and

1530-400: The islands included in the park are Big, Butternut, Cedar, Hazelton, and Lorne Islands, in addition to many unnamed islands. They consists of marble bedrock or low-lying alluvial sands and silts. A total of sixteen regionally significant plant species, such as little bluestem ( Andropogon scoparius ), cordgrass ( Spartina pectinata ) and Indiangrass ( Sorghastrum nutans ) have been found in

1581-420: The lake is from that height to the present. The present beach is 582 feet (177 m) to 584 feet (178 m) with a mean stage of water about 580 feet (180 m). The name "Nipissing beach" has from the first been applied to the shoreline formed during the two-outlet stage of the lakes. The name more precisely belongs to the older beach made by the Nipissing Great Lakes when the whole discharge passed through

Nipissing Great Lakes - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-579: The land rebounded. Thus, the known beaches of the Nipissing Great Lake are those formed during the period that the St. Clair valley served as the outlet. Only a few of the older beaches survive. Lake Nipissing, like Lake Algonquin , is reflected in the character of the channel in the Niagara Gorge . A part of the gorge at the whirlpool and a small section above and below it shows a shallow excavation both sides. This shallow excavation

1683-444: The largest silver maple swamps along the river. Like all wetlands, these depend upon the seasonal fluctuations in the water level. High water levels help create and maintain silver maple swamps, while low water periods allow many rare wetland plants to grow on the emerged sand and clay flats. There are five principal wetland vegetation types. One is swamp, mostly silver maple. There are four herbaceous vegetation types, named for

1734-453: The logging and early settlement were vast wild fires which not only removed the forests, but led to soil erosion. Consequently, nearly all the forests show varying degrees of human disturbance. Tracts of older forest are uncommon, and hence they are considered of considerable importance for conservation. The Ottawa River has large areas of wetlands. Some of the more biologically important wetland areas include (going downstream from Pembroke),

1785-550: The modern Lake Nipissing . As the ground continued to rebound from the weight of glacier, the Port Huron outlet began to again receive water, creating a temporary two-outlet lake. The North Bay outlet river, (580 feet (180 m) above sea level) or " Nipissing-Mattawa River," crossed an area of crystalline rock, chiefly gneiss , reaching the Mattawa River , which joined the Ottawa River at Mattawa , which led out

1836-541: The rapids of Sault Ste. Marie and across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were open bodies of water. The term "Nipissing Great Lakes" is applied to the waters of the upper three Great Lakes during the stage. The glacier had receded completely from the Great Lakes Basin. The plural form is used to denote that each basin was a separate unit, with a narrow strait connecting each. Each basin stood at

1887-624: The rest in Ontario, with a mean discharge of 1,950 m /s (69,000 cu ft/s). It has a maximum depth of 90 m (300 ft) at the Carillon Reservoir and is 7,400 m (24,300 ft) wide at its widest part. The average annual mean waterflow measured at Carillon dam , near the Lake of Two Mountains, is 1,939 m /s (68,500 cu ft/s), with average annual extremes of 749 to 5,351 m /s (26,500 to 189,000 cu ft/s). Record historic levels since 1964 are

1938-473: The river and Fort Témiscamingue . From Lake Timiskaming a portage led north to the Abitibi River and James Bay. 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. A scattering of small subsistence farming communities developed along

1989-552: The river runs ( La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve ). Several ZECs ( zone d'exploitation contrôlée ) also line the Ottawa River. Ontario has 7 provincial parks along the banks of the Ottawa River: Voyageur Provincial Park , Fitzroy Provincial Park , Ottawa River Provincial Park, Westmeath Provincial Park , Petawawa Terrace Provincial Park , Driftwood Provincial Park , and Alexander Lake Forest Provincial Park ). The Ottawa River Provincial Park

2040-445: The river. In 1950, the dam at Rapides-des-Joachims was built, forming Holden Lake behind it and thereby submerging the rapids and portages at Deux Rivières. These hydro dams have had negative effects upon shoreline and wetland ecosystems, and are thought to also be responsible for the near extermination of American eels , which were once an abundant species in the river, but which are now uncommon. As an economic route, its importance

2091-456: The same elevation and thus appear as a single body of water. Lake Michigan connected to Lake Huron by the Mackinac strait , except the water was 50 feet (15 m) higher. There was also a narrower, shallower channel Little Traverse Bay to Huron basin. The outlet of the lakes, however, was eastward from the northeast angle of Georgian Bay. The North Bay Outlet was at North Bay, Ontario ,

Nipissing Great Lakes - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-812: The shores of the river to provide manpower for the lumber camps in winter. 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 . A pulp and paper mill (at Témiscaming ) and several hydroelectric dams have been constructed on

2193-637: The suspected instability of the earth in that location. As the land gradually rose again the sea coast retreated and the fresh water courses of today took shape. Following the demise of the Champlain Sea the Ottawa River Valley continued to drain the waters of the emerging Upper Great Lakes basin through Lake Nipissing and the Mattawa River . Owing to the ongoing uplift of the land, the eastward flow became blocked around 4000 years ago. Thereafter Lake Nipissing drained westward, through

2244-526: The time of the Nipissing Great Lakes. The Lake Algonquin period of lake development included drainage through the Algonquin River to Trenton, Lake Iroquois , Lake Frontenac , and Gilbert Gulf , which disappeared before the beginning of the Nipissing Great Lakes. It is not certain but that the Champlain Sea had nearly disappeared and all the uplift, except perhaps about 20 feet (6.1 m), had been accomplished. A heavily developed shore line, called

2295-552: The wave-cut bench is unusually wide. Lake Chippewa Lake Chippewa was a prehistoric proglacial lake. The basin is now Lake Michigan . It formed about 10,600 years before present (YBP). The lake occupied the depression left by the Michigan Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet . The lake formed from glacial Lake Algonquin as water levels dropped, occupying only the deepest parts of

2346-429: The ‘hinge line’ for Nipissing beach is the same as the highest Algonquin beach. South of the line the Nipissing beaches are horizontal and vary between 14 and 16 feet (4.3 and 4.9 m) above the present lake level, the mean being 15 feet (4.6 m). In the south, the Algonquin beach and the Nipissing beach can be indistinguishable. Both are from 10 and 12 feet (3.0 and 3.7 m) below the Algonquin high beach. Where

2397-476: Was a nonglacial lake in this period. The third stage of nonglacial development ended the Lake Algonquin . A fourth stage was initiated when the upper lakes entered the Nipissing Great Lakes stage and that volume of water was diverted through the outlet at North Bay, Ontario. At this low stage, Lake Erie was 10 feet (3.0 m) to 12 feet (3.7 m) lower than present lake level and which lasted throughout

2448-563: Was a self-contained body of water without an outlet. Levels returned and Lake Chippewa again flowed through the canyon at Mackinac until around 7,500 YBP. At that time, the Nipissing Great Lakes merged with the waters in the Michigan Basin and created a single lake encompassing all three of the upper Great Lakes . Somewhat smaller than Lake Michigan, Lake Chippewa extended through most of the Michigan Basin, north to

2499-489: Was at low stage; in fact, it was almost if not wholly abandoned as a lake. Only a sluggish, relatively small stream with locally expanded ponds or swampy parts remained. Lake Erie was at low stage during the time of the Nipissing Great Lakes. Without the inflow from the upper lake basin, both Lake Erie and Niagara Falls would lack the volume of water needed to cut the channel through the Niagara limestone cap rock. Lake Erie

2550-646: 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 on the Upper Ottawa (in downstream order): Lower Ottawa (in downstream order): * Ontario Power Generation operates generators 2, 3, 4, and 5 with

2601-463: Was made by a weak waterfall when the Erie basin was the main watershed feeding falls. Near the suspension bridges a deep excavation begins which extends up to the present cataract. This seems to have been created since the flow from Lake Nipissing turned into the St. Clair outlet, feeding water to Lake Erie. The rate of recession the falls would require between 2,700 and 3,500 years to make the deep part of

SECTION 50

#1732780227079
#78921