The Sand River (French: ''Rivière Sand'') 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
Unorganized North Part of
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 ...
in
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior.
Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiska ...
, Canada.
[ Shows river course.] 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 ...
, 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 ...
, and its entire course lies within
Lake Superior Provincial Park
Lake Superior Provincial Park is one of the largest provincial parks in Ontario, covering about along the northeastern shores of Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Ontario High ...
.
The river is named after the sand bar formed across its mouth. The
Ojibway
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 for the river is ''Pinguisibi'', where ''pingui'' means ''fine white sand'' and ''sibi'' means ''river''.
Course
The Sand River begins at Sand Lake, in
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 ...
Stoney Township,
on which is located the railway point of
Sand Lake on the
Algoma Central Railway
The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads.
The rai ...
.
It leaves the lake South over Sand Lake Dam about west of the community of
Millwood.
It travels South into geographic Barnes Township, geographic Barager Township, and geographic Broome Township, the latter in which it heads over Calwin Falls. The river continues south into geographic Goodwillie Township, flows over Lady Evelyn Falls, and takes in the left tributary Kwagama Creek. It then heads southwest, descends a series of low cascades, passes under
Ontario Highway 17
King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba boundary, west of Kenora, and the m ...
and reaches its mouth at Lake Superior.
Recreation
The entire river is a designated canoe route. There is a picnic area at the mouth of the river next to Highway 17 where many travelers stop to enjoy a view of the cascading falls,
and the Pinguisibi hiking trail follows the right bank from the river mouth.
Tributaries
*Kwagama Creek
*Sand Lake
**Sand Creek
Image:SandRiverOntario 001.JPG, Sand River Looking Upstream near 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 ...
Image:SandRiver HistorySign2007.JPG, Historical Sign on the Bank of the River
Image:SandRiverOntario 003.JPG, Sand River water cascades looking upstream
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, 30em
Rivers of Algoma District
Tributaries of Lake Superior