The Harricana River (french: Rivière Harricana) (also known as Harricanaw River) is a river in western
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
northeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
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. It is long, has a drainage area of , and has a mean discharge of .
[ While 80% of its drainage area is in ]Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, the river flows for a short distance through 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 ...
before it ends in Hannah Bay off James Bay
James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...
.
Because of its undeveloped nature, easy upstream access, and the possibility to paddle to and take out at Moosonee, the Harricana River is popular for canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
trips to James Bay.
Geography
The Harricana originates at Lake Blouin just north of Val-d'Or
Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife R ...
. From here De Montigny and Lemoine Lemoine or Le Moine is a French surname meaning "Monk". Notable people with the surname include:
* Adolphe Lemoine, known as Lemoine-Montigny (1812–1880), French comic-actor
* Anna Le Moine (born 1973), Swedish curler
* Antoine Marcel Lemoine ( ...
Lakes add to it before it flows through a series of lakes such as Malartic, La Motte, and Figuery Lakes. After flowing through the town of Amos
Amos or AMOS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968
* Amos (band), an American Christian rock band
* ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray
* ''Amos' ...
, one more significant lake follows: Lake Obalski.
North of Amos the river crosses lush boreal forests, where extensive logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
takes place. Toward its mouth at Hannah Bay, the forest gradually decreases and is replaced with many wetlands. Here the Harricana has considerable speed and a flat relief, flowing through undeveloped wilderness.
Notable tributaries
(in downstream order)
* Berry River
* Desboues River
* Miniac River
* Octave River
* Coigny River
* Plamondon River
* Samson River
* Turgeon River
** Theo River
** Wawagosic River
* Kesagami River
History
The Harricana was first used by the Algonquins
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
as a river route.
As a tributary of the James bay
James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...
, and thus of the Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
, the Harricana River and its basin were part of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...
, ''de facto'' property of the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
by exclusive charter of 1670. But not until 1801, Alexander MacKenzie mapped the entire route of the river for the first time and identified it by name Harricanaw. In 1835, the map of Bradford called it Harricana. The Rupert's Land Act 1868
The Rupert's Land Act 1868This short title was authorised bsection 1of the Act. (31 & 32 Vict. c.105) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was), authorizing the transfer of Rupert's Land ...
transferred the river and its basin to 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 ...
and was officially annexed to the Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
in 1898. Thereafter colonization and settlement on the upper Harricana began in earnest.
In 1906, Henry O' Sullivan explored the shores of Harricana and in 1908, the first camps were established on its banks at the rapids. These were provisioning camps for the transcontinental railroad construction. A few years later, in 1910, the first colonists arrive and found the town of Amos at the place where the railroad crosses the river.
Toponymy
The river's name originates from the Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
word ''Nanikana'', meaning "the main way" [Environnement Québec, ''North Harricana River Aquatic Reserve'']
Online version
or "Biscuit River", depending on the source. Biscuit (or ''ànakonà'' in Algonquin, ''aanakonaa'' in Ojibwe, and ''aaihkunaau'' in East James Bay Cree) refers to bannock
Bannock may mean:
* Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle
* Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying
* Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...
-like the unusual flat stones, sand, limestone and clay concretions, which are found in the river, called ''Pierres de fée'' or "fairy stones."[Grand Quebec.com]
Harricana River
Through history various spellings have been reported: "ᴀʌᴀᴋoʌᴀ" (''anàkonà'') (Algonquin), "anâkona" or "uhnahkoonah" (''anaakonaa'') (Ojibwe) and "ayukoona'w" (''aaihkunaau'') (Cree). The Algonquins also use the name ''Inikana'', meaning "river route". A segment of the river in East James Bay Cree was called ''Waashahaau Siipii'', which means "river to the bay".
See also
*List of rivers of Ontario
This is the list of rivers which are in and flow through Ontario. The watershed list includes tributaries as well.
Dee River, flows between Three Mile Lake and Lake Rosseau.
List of rivers arranged by watershed Hudson Bay
Atlantic Ocean
...
*List of rivers of Quebec
This is a list of rivers of Quebec. Quebec has about:
*one million lakes of which 62279 have a toponymic designation (a name), plus 218 artificial lakes;
*15228 watercourses with an official toponymic designation, including 12094 streams and 3134 ...
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Cochrane District
Tributaries of James Bay
Rivers of Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Rivers of Nord-du-Québec