The Pukaskwa 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 ...

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay. In 2016, the population was 146,048. The land area is ; the population density was . Most of ...

and

Algoma District Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe in ...

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

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 is in the

Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose dir ...

and is a tributary of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, which it enters at the south end of

Pukaskwa National Park Pukaskwa National Park ( ) is a national park located south of the town of Marathon, Ontario in the Thunder Bay District of northern Ontario, Canada. Established in 1978, Pukaskwa is known for its vistas of Lake Superior and boreal forests. The pa ...

. It is a remote, pristine, free-flowing, medium-sized

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

river, with lots of

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

, best travelled in spring. A waterfall at Schist Falls, just upstream of the river mouth and with a drop of , can only be visited by travelling along the river. The river's name is said to come from the

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 ...

word "Pukasu", which refers to cooking the marrow in the bones of animals. The legend is that a native of the area is said to have killed his wife, burned the bones and thrown them into the river. The Pukaskwa River was featured in the artwork and films of

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 Christi ...

, including ''

Waterwalker ''Waterwalker'' is a 1984 documentary film by Bill Mason, a Canadian outdoorsman, painter, rapist, canoeist and environmentalist, who made many films on the art of canoeing and on the appreciation of nature. Released theatrically in Canada in 1984 ...

'' (1984).

Geography

The river begins at Gibson Lake which straddles the border between Algoma District and Thunder Bay District. The river exits the lake in Algoma District, travels southwest into Thunder Bay District and into Jarvey Lake, which also straddles the border. It passes into Algoma District then back into Thunder Bay District before leaving Jarvey Lake at the south west heading in a southwest direction. it briefly turns west, takes in the right tributary Fox River, and heads south. The river resumes a southwest course, enters

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Homer Township, takes in the left tributary East Pukaskwa River, flows over the Schist Falls, and reaches its mouth at Lake Superior. From upstream of the East Pukaskwa River confluence to the river mouth, the Pukaskwa River forms the southern boundary of Pukaskwa National Park.

Tributaries

*Robin Creek (right) *East Pukaskwa River (left) *Perry Creek (right) *Fox River (right) *Coronation Creek (left)

Pukaskwa River Provincial Park

The Pukaskwa River Provincial Park protects a long section of the Pukaskwa River, including its headwater lakes. The remaining of the river is protected in the adjacent Pukaskwa National Park. It was established in 2002 and offers a remote whitewater river experience for persons with advanced canoeing and camping skills. The park features "spectacular scenery" as the Pukaskwa River flows through lakes and small wetlands that are linked by bedrock channels with shallow sandy till rock uplands and sand and gravel deposits. It is a non-operating park, meaning that there are no services. The only facilities provided are 4 backcountry campsites. Permitted activities include boating, canoeing, fishing, and hunting.

Canoeing

Canoeing the Pukaskwa River is considered to be challenging due to its remoteness and difficulty, and navigable only during spring run-off, from May to early June. Once reaching the river's mouth, paddlers will require a boat shuttle or a lengthy paddle along the undeveloped coast of Lake Superior to reach civilization (either paddle north to the Park's office at Hattie Cove, or a paddle east to Michipicoten). The river has some 57 rapids that can be run in high water, ranging from Class I to IV. One notable whitewater section is the Ringham’s Gorge, a whitewater canyon. There are also a few Class V rapids and several waterfalls that need to be

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

References

Sources