The rivers and water bodies of Montreal are few and mostly artificial. Hydrography of the

island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

remained intact until approximately XIXth where

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

will undergo major urban works including the construction of

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French (language), French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroug ...

and the creation of the first major parks of Montreal.

History

Last Ice Age

After the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

, around -13 000 years, Montreal and the

Saint Lawrence Lowlands In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

are flooded by the

Champlain sea The Champlain Sea (french: Mer de Champlain) was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in ...

. Within a few centuries, as and when these waters recede, the

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

and its three summits are emerged into islands. With the complete withdrawal of the sea, water is retained in some depression of the island. This is the case among other Beaver Lake, located in the palm of

. This will dry gradually to become a

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

. He was regrooved artificially in 1938.

Before XIXth

There used to be a complex hydrographic, now destroyed or channeled. * (or small lake St. Peter): long by about 4 kilometers and one kilometer wide, marshy lake that was halfway between the

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

and Lachine, south of Quartier Latin, the , and west of the

Turcot Interchange The Turcot Interchange is a three-level four-way freeway interchange within the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located southwest of downtown, the interchange links Autoroutes 15 (Décarie and Décarie South Expressways) and 20 (Remembrance H ...

. It was backfilled and gradually dried up, particularly with the construction of the

and with the industrialization of the sector. The

highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

runs through the length and breadth of today in the center. * Saint Pierre River: started in

Côte-des-Neiges Côte-des-Neiges (, ) is a neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the geographic centre of the Island of Montreal on the western slope of Mount Royal and is part of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Côt ...

down to

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...

and widening formed Lake Otter. It then returns to the river and leads to

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Nuns' Island Nuns' Island (officially Île des Sœurs; ) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River that forms a part of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is part of the borough of Verdun. History Originally called Île Saint-Paul in honour of the f ...

. * Little St. Pierre River: created artificially in 1697 under the name of "St. Gabriel canal". This channel connects the Saint-Pierre River (in the east part of Lake Otter) up the

Pointe-à-Callière Museum Pointe-à-Callière Museum (french: Musée Pointe-à-Callière) is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal's 350th birthday. The museum has collections of ...

. One part was channeled as qu'égout (William collector) in 1832. The

would make the public place around 2017. * Saint Martin River or Little River: It begins at

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...

through

Outremont, Quebec Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...

and the

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

and

Plateau Mont-Royal Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on a plateau, on the eastern side of Mont-Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, across ...

until

La Fontaine Park La Fontaine Park (french: Parc La Fontaine) is a urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountain ...

(including the pond is a remnant). Then it branched off westward through the

Quartier Latin The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

and ran along the to the river. There are still some traces of the river.Article "Des rivières perdues - un ruisseau méconnu"
/ref>

Today

Today there are only a handful of streams and lakes in nature. However, many parks have ponds or artificial lakes of large size.

List of water bodies

Below is a partial list of current waters bodies of the island:

List of rivers

Rivière à l'Orme The Rivière à l'Orme (English: Elm River) is a tributary of the Lac des Deux Montagnes, flowing into the territory of Pierrefonds, Quebec and Senneville, Quebec, in the city of Montreal, in Quebec, in Canada. The course of the river mainly pas ...

* Bertrand Brook * Saint-Pierre River (Montreal) *

Aqueduct Canal Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

* Prairie River (Montreal)

References

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