The Magnetawan River is a long
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
Parry Sound District
Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...
,
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. The river flows 175 km from its source of
Magnetawan Lake
Magnetawan Lake ''(French: lac Magnetawan)'' is a lake in Nipissing District, Ontario, Canada. Magnetawan Lake is located just within the boundaries of Algonquin Provincial Park. Being located in the park the lake and its surroundings are protect ...
inside
Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Cana ...
to empty into
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...
at the community of
Britt on
Byng Inlet.
The name of the river means "swiftly flowing waters" in the
Ojibwa language
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...
.
At the end of the 19th century, the river was used to float
white pine
''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
logs to
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s
downstream
Downstream may refer to:
* Downstream (bioprocess)
* Downstream (manufacturing)
* Downstream (networking)
* Downstream (software development)
* Downstream (petroleum industry)
* Upstream and downstream (DNA), determining relative positions on DNA ...
. The river gained recent renown when it was featured in
Bill Mason
Bill Mason was a Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christ ...
's film
Waterwalker.
The river has numerous rapids, such as, "The Thirty Dollar Rapids", "The Fourteen", "The Ten", the "Potato Rapids", "Poverty Bay Chutes", and "Cody Rapids".
The town of
Magnetawan
Magnetawan is a township in the Almaguin Highlands region of the Parry Sound District in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as the name of the primary population centre in the township.
The Township of Magnetawan was formed in 1998 thr ...
is located on the river between
Lake Cecebe
Lake Cecebe is a lake in the Almaguin Highlands region of the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. Lake Cecebe is part of the Magnetawan River waterway. The lake has over 20 miles of shoreline. The village of Burk's Falls is located upstream ...
and
Ahmic Lake
Ahmic Lake is a lake in Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada, part of the Magnetawan River waterway in the Almaguin Highlands region. Ahmic Lake is approximately 19 km long and connects to two smaller lakes, Neighick (nicknamed Beaver La ...
.
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 were built here on the river to allow
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
s to travel further down the river from the
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
station at
Burk's Falls
Burk's Falls is an incorporated village in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada, located north of Toronto and south of North Bay, Ontario. The village, and the waterfall on the site, were named (for himself) by ...
. The locks officially opened on July 8, 1886 and are still in use today.
Municipality of Magnetawan
There is an Ojibwe community with the name Magnetawan First Nation
The Magnetawan First Nation ( oj, Magnetawan Atik Anishnaabe) is an Ojibwe First Nation community in Ontario, Canada. The community is situated on reserve lands in Britt, Ontario.
Magnetawan Indian Reserve No. 1
Magnetawan No. 1 is a First Na ...
, the same name as the river. The community is on reserve lands on the river just east of Byng Inlet.
Canoe routes
The Magnetawan River also provides great canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
routes for novice and more experienced canoe tripping
Canoe camping, also known as touring, tripping or expedition canoeing, is a combination of canoeing and camping. Like backpacking, canoe campers carry enough with them to travel and camp for several days, but do so via a canoe or kayak.
Descri ...
. Canadian Canoe Routes lists three Magnetawan River Canoe Routes:
Magnetawan River South Branch (35 km)
Magnetawan River North Branch (43 km)
Magnetawan River Loop No.2 (80 km)
Image:Upper_Magnetawan_River.jpg, Upper Magnetawan
Image:Upper Magnetawan River, canoers.jpg, Canoers on Upper Magnetawan River
Image:Magnetawan ON 2.JPG, Magnetawan River flowing through Magnetawan
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
...
References
{{reflist
External links
Canadian Canoe Routes
Rivers of Parry Sound District
Tributaries of Georgian Bay