The Carp River is a river in the city of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is 42 kilometres (26 miles) long and its watershed drains an area of approximately 306 km² spread across

Stittsville Stittsville is a suburban community, part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. It is within the former Goulbourn Township. A part of the National Capital Region, Stittsville is immediately to the southwest of Kanata, adjacent to Richmon ...

, Kanata, and West Carleton-March. The headwaters originate as the upper Carp River (also called Carp Creek), which runs southwest from Appaloosa Park under Eagleson Road through Glen Cairn where it empties into the marshes and storm water ponds south of the Canadian Tire Centre. From there it flows north through West Carleton-March into the

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 is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

Fitzroy Harbour Fitzroy Harbour is a small village within the city of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Ottawa River at the mouth of the Carp River. A branch of the Mississippi River, known as the Snye, also empties into the Ottawa to the ...

. The Carp River has four major tributaries: Poole Creek, Feedmill Creek, Huntley Creek, and Corkery Creek. The watershed is administered by the

Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) (formerly Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC)) is a conservation authority in the province of Ontario. It is headquartered in Carleton Place, Ontario and serves a 4450 km watershed locat ...

. The Carp River likely takes its name from the abundance of native sucker fish (

White Sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is commonl ...

- ''Catostomos commersonii'') found in the river by early European explorers or settlers. The French name for sucker fish is ''carpe'' and the native suckers bear some resemblance to the common

European Carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

(''Cyprinus carpio''), especially around the mouth. They prefer the shallow, warm, slow moving waters of the Carp River and inhabit the river today, along with introduced European Carp. In the spring there is enough run-off water from melting ice that the Carp River becomes a

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

paddling site. The put-in is beside a bridge (crossing the river) on Carp Road between Kinburn Side Road and Galetta Side Road. The whitewater is class 2 to 3 and excellent for kayaking and canoeing.

Carp River restoration

Planning and analysis for this initiative has been underway since 2000 and involves numerous stormwater, sanitary, transportation, and waterflow projects. The Carp River Restoration Plan will enhance the river with a narrower low flow channel that improves sediment transport, vegetation along the river banks, and habitat features such as fish habitat pools and wetlands. The project is expected to be complete by 2021.Carp River Watershed/Subwatershed Study, December 2004, Prepared for the City of Ottawa.
/ref>

Carp River restoration

See also

References

Sources

External links