The Moon River is a

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 the municipalities of

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 ...

and

Muskoka Lakes The Township of Muskoka Lakes is a municipality of the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. It has a year-round population of 6,588. The municipal offices are located in Port Carling. History The area now covered by the townshi ...

, District Municipality of Muskoka in

Central Ontario Central Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario that lies between Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The population of the region was 1,123,307 in 2016; however, this number does not in ...

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 ...

. It flows from

Lake Muskoka Lake Muskoka is located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. The lake is surrounded by many cottages. The lake is primarily within the boundary of the Township of Muskoka Lakes, the southeast corner is within the boundary of ...

at the community of Bala to

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

, south of

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...

. The name of the river is thought to be derived from its

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

name , which means "moose river".

Course

The river begins at the Bala Falls in the community of Bala, where those falls drain Lake Muskoka. The river heads northwest, passes through Moon Chute, at which point the Musquash River diverges to the south. The river continues northwest and passes into

Wahta Mohawk Territory The Wahta Mohawks are a Mohawk First Nation in Ontario. The Wahta Mohawk Territory is their territory (reserve) in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada near Bala. It is bounded on the west by Highway 400, a major north–south ...

, flows over the Island Portage Falls, takes in the right tributary Haggart Creek, and passes into the municipality of Georgian Bay. The Moon River continues northwest, flows over Jack Knife Rapids then under

Ontario Highway 400 King's Highway 400, commonly referred to as Highway400, historically as the Toronto–Barrie Highway, and colloquially as the400, is a 400-series highway The 400-series highways are a network of controlled-access highways throughout the sou ...

, and passes through Moon River Conservation Reserve. It enters the Lower Moon River Conservation Reserve (which continues to the river mouth), passes over the Twin Rapids, flows past the community of Moon River, and reaches its mouth at Arnolds Bay on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. The section of the Moon River from Bala to Moon Chute and the Musquash River were officially considered to be a continuation of the

Muskoka River The Muskoka River is a river in the Muskoka District of Ontario, Canada. It rises in the highlands of Algonquin Park and flows southwest through a number of lakes including *Lake Muskoka *Lake Joseph *Lake Rosseau *Lake of Bays which empty into ...

until 1968.

Natural history

This area around Moon River is known to be the home of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, one of the few rattlesnake species found in Canada.

Recreational opportunities

The Moon River is a traditional canoe route passing through provincial conservation reserves named Moon River and Lower Moon River. Lower Moon River Conservation Reserve is also accessible by power boat from Georgian Bay to the base of Moon Falls. Crown land camping occurs at sites along the river, and below Moon Falls. Both sites are used for a variety of hunting activities, and angling for a variety of fish species occurs throughout both sites.

Floods

In Spring of 2013 Muskoka Lakes region experienced a flood that at the time was touted as “the worst flooding in 100 years”. The flood of 2019 measurably exceeded the levels of the 2013 flooding. Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport Canada, issued an interim order on April 30, 2019 prohibiting all non-emergency vessels from Moon River due to flooding. On that day Moon River was discharging at the rate of up to 361 m³/s, a flow sufficient to fill up an Olympic size swimming pool in under seven seconds. Regular regulated summer time discharge rate of Moon River is approximately 5 m³/s.

References

{{reflist Tributaries of Georgian Bay Rivers of Muskoka District

Course

Natural history

Recreational opportunities

Floods

See also

References