Hog's Back Falls
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The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of
artificial waterfall An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall. Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic ...
s on the Rideau River in Ottawa,
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 C ...
, Canada. The falls are located just north of Mooney's Bay and the point where the Rideau Canal splits from the Rideau River. Prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal, these were a gentle set of rapids originally known as Three Rock Rapids. The name Hog's Back came into use shortly before canal construction. Civil Engineer John MacTaggart, in 1827, described them as ''"a noted ridge of rocks, called the Hog’s Back, from the circumstances of raftsmen with their wares imber raftssticking on it in coming down the stream."'' These rapids were about 600 metres (2 000 feet) in length with a drop of about 1.8 metres (6 feet). They were navigable by canoe; no portage was required. As part of his concept for a slackwater navigation system, Lt. Colonel
John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was des ...
's design for the Rideau Canal called for a large dam to be raised in this location. It would divert water from the Rideau River into the artificially-created section of the canal leading to the Ottawa locks. It would also flood the Three Island Rapids located upstream (the head of present-day Mooney's Bay marks the foot of these rapids). The building of this dam provided one of the greatest construction challenges (it collapsed three times during construction) of the Rideau Canal, but when completed in 1831, it flooded the Rideau River at that point by 12.5 metres (41 feet). To accommodate the natural flow of the Rideau River and to prevent damage from spring flooding, a large wastewater weir was constructed. The water from this flows through a channel that was excavated in the eastern bank of the Rideau River. This created the Hog's Back Falls that we see today. The head of the original rapids is now buried beneath the canal dam, but the lower section of the rapids can still be seen today. This location marks where the route of the Rideau Canal leaves the Rideau River and enters a manmade canal leading to the Ottawa locks. A series of
lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
s lowers boats from this location to the Ottawa River.


External links

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The story of the building of the Hogs Back Dam
{{Ottawa landmarks Parks in Ottawa Waterfalls of Ontario Landforms of Ottawa