Mississagi River
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The Mississagi 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 Algoma and
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
Districts,
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, that originates in Sudbury District and flows 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 ...
at Blind River, Algoma District.


Etymology

The river's name comes from the
Ojibwe 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 ...
''misi-zaagi'', "river with a wide mouth".


Course

The Mississagi River begins in a small unnamed lake in Sudbury District and flows south from that point to the border of Algoma District, then southeast through a north-east corner of the district, before returning once again to Sudbury District at White Owl Lake, from which it flows into Mississagi Lake at an elevation of . The river then turns south and heads to Kettle Lake, the furthest point east it reaches, before continuing south and entering Mississagi River Provincial Park at Upper Bark Lake at an elevation of . The river then continues south and crosses back into Algoma District, where it remains for the rest of its journey to Lake Huron, and enters the large "L"-shaped Bark Lake. It then heads west through Hellgate Rapids, takes in its right tributary the Abinette River at an elevation of , splits into two channels to form an island at , recombines at , and enters the large Rocky Island Lake at an elevation of , where the right tributary Cypress River enters. The Mississagi River then flows into Aubrey Lake, partially formed by the Aubrey Falls Generating Station (
hydro Hydro from Ancient Greek word ὕδωρ (húdōr), meaning ''water''. Hydro may also refer to: Energy technologies * Water-derived power or energy: ** Hydropower, derived from water ** Hydroelectricity, in electrical form * "Hydro", AC mains ...
) and dam, and where the Wenebegon Rivers joins. Not all the water is funnelled into the station, however; some continues to form the Aubrey Falls. The river turns south and the right tributary Aubinadong River enters, followed by two left tributaries, the Sharpsand River and the Rapid River in quick succession, and further on, another left tributary, Snowshoe Creek from Wakomata Lake. Then it reaches Tunnel Lake, formed by the George W Rayner Generating Station and Wells Generating Station and associated dams. The river then heads southeast where the left tributary Little White River enters, and continues to Red Rock Lake, created by the Red Rock Falls Generating Station and dam, over the Shino Rapids, takes in the right tributary Bolton River, then reaches the
North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) *North Channel (Ontario), body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, Canada *North Channel, Hong Kong *Canal du Nord, France {{geodis ...
on Lake Huron. The river's
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...
is a "bird's foot" delta, a type not commonly found on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. The
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
has a bird's foot delta. Communities along the Mississagi River in upstream order: *Mississauga First Nation *Blind River * Iron Bridge * Wharncliffe, Ontario


History

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 ...
people used the river to travel between the forests of the interior and Lake Huron. In 1799, the
North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
built a
fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
post at the mouth of the river. This post was closed in 1900. During the second half of the 19th century, the river was used to transport 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 at Blind River.


Economy

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...
constructed dams and four
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
generating stations on the Mississagi River, Rayner G.S., Wells G.S., Red Rock Falls G.S., and Aubrey Falls G.S. between 1950 and 1970, which today are operated by
Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...
. Historically, mining and forestry played a large role, but today tourism is the primary activity along the river. Highway 129 follows the river from Wharncliffe until the river turns east at Aubrey Falls.


Ecology

The lower river is an important spawning ground for lake
sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
.
Aubrey Falls Provincial Park Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-German ...
is on the river at Aubrey Falls. Mississagi River Provincial Park encompasses the upper reaches of the river including Mississagi Lake.
Mississagi Provincial Park Mississagi Provincial Park is a natural environment-class provincial park north of Elliot Lake, in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It lies on the Boland River, a tributary of the Little White River, which is itself a tributary of the Mississ ...
is on the Boland River, a tributary of the Little White River. Mississagi Delta Provincial Nature Reserve Park encompasses the river's delta mouth. The
Voyageur Hiking Trail The Voyageur Hiking Trail is a public hiking trail between Sudbury and Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The name honours the early European fur traders of the region who travelled largely by canoe and were known as 'voyageurs’ and ...
follows the lower portion of the river near Iron Bridge.


Tributaries

*Abinette River (right) *Cypress River (right) *Wenebegon River (right) *Aubinadong River (right) *Sharpsand River (left) *Rapid River (left) * Grindstone Creek (left) * Little White River (left) * Bolton River (right)


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

* * {{refend Rivers of Algoma District Rivers of Sudbury District Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Tributaries of Lake Huron