Montreal River is a river in the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. It flows from
Montreal Lake to
Lac la Ronge
Lac la Ronge is a glacial lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the fifth largest lake in the province and is approximately north of Prince Albert, on the edge of the Canadian Shield. La Ronge, Air Ronge, and the Lac La Ro ...
and is part of the
Churchill River and
Hudson Bay drainage basin
The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , the basin is almost totally in Canada (spanning parts of the Prairies, ce ...
s. Along its course, Montreal River runs through
boreal forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
s,
muskeg
Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...
, and glacier formed valleys. Within its watershed are the
Waskesiu Uplands, much of
Prince Albert National Park
Prince Albert National Park encompasses in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is located north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Though declared a National parks of Canada, national park March 24, 1927, official opening ceremonies weren't ...
, and several notable lakes, such as
Waskesiu,
Kingsmere
Kingsmere is a community in Chelsea, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. It is within Gatineau Park and in the National Capital Region, near the capital Ottawa, Ontario.
The Farm, the official r ...
,
Crean,
Weyakwin, and Bittern.
Course
Montreal River begins at Montreal Lake north of the community of
Molanosa and west of
Saskatchewan Highway 969
Highway 969 is a provincial highway in the north-east region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 2 to Highway 165. Highway 969 is about long.
Route description
Highway 969 begins at Hig ...
. It heads north and passes under at
Highway 2 at the site of the Montreal River Recreation Site. The river continues north, passes under
Highway 165, heads east through Partridge Crop Lake and Sikachu Lake and enters Egg Lake at Wawe Bay. It continues east through Bigstone Lake, passes again under Highway 2, and reaches its mouth at
Lac la Ronge
Lac la Ronge is a glacial lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the fifth largest lake in the province and is approximately north of Prince Albert, on the edge of the Canadian Shield. La Ronge, Air Ronge, and the Lac La Ro ...
between the communities of
La Ronge
La Ronge is a northern town in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is approximately north of Prince Albert where Highway 2 becomes Highway 102. La Ronge lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, is adjacent to ...
and
Air Ronge
Air Ronge ( 2006 population 1,032) is a northern village in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 235 km north of Prince Albert. It lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, and is 3 km south of La Ronge and Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. Acc ...
.
Montreal River Recreation Site
Montreal River Recreation Site () is a
provincial recreation site along the course of the Montreal River. It is a small roadside pull-out campground off of Highway 2 with six campsites.
Fish species
The
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
species include
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
,
sauger
The sauger (''Sander canadensis'') is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes.Jaeger, Matthew. 2004. Montana's Fi ...
,
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...
,
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...
,
lake trout
The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
,
lake whitefish
The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...
,
cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
,
burbot
The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...
,
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 ...
, and
longnose sucker
The longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus'') is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in rive ...
.
See also
*
List of rivers of Saskatchewan
This is a list of rivers of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada.
The largest and most notable rivers are listed at the start, followed by rivers listed by drainage basin and then alphabetically.
Principal river statistics
''SourcSt ...
*
Hudson Bay drainage basin
The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , the basin is almost totally in Canada (spanning parts of the Prairies, ce ...
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Saskatchewan
Tributaries of Hudson Bay