The Sydenham 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 ...

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cl ...

and Middlesex County in southwestern

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, flowing southwest from its source west of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Ontario and emptying into

Lake Saint Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast da ...

. The length of the river is and it drains a watershed of approximately . The river flows through the towns of Strathroy and

Wallaceburg Wallaceburg ( 2016 population 10,098) is an unincorporated community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern (Southwestern) Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber ...

. It was named after Lord Sydenham, governor of Canada from 1839 to 1841. Unusual

concretion A concretion is a hard, compact mass of matter formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles, and is found in sedimentary rock or soil. Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular ...

s, composed of

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

, can be found near this river. These are known as "kettles" because they resemble the bottom of a large

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

. The river has been identified as a key biodiversity area.

Fish species

Because this river flows through a large agricultural area, its waters collect silt and fertilizer runoff. In spite of this, the river provides habitat for 80 fish species and 34 species of freshwater

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s; these include: ;Nine mussel species considered as "endangered" nationally * Mudpuppy mussel (''Simpsonaias ambigua'') *

Northern riffleshell The northern riffleshell (''Epioblasma torulosa rangiana''), is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This subspecies is endangered. This species was formerly found widely i ...

(''Epioblasma torulosa rangiana'') *

Rayed bean ''Villosa fabalis'', the rayed bean, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Distribution and conservation status This species lives in eastern North America. It is native to ...

(''Villosa fabalis'') *

Wavy-rayed lampmussel ''Lampsilis fasciola'', the wavy-rayed lampmussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Appearance and description The wavy-rayed lampmussel is a relatively small mussel ...

(''Lampsilis fasciola'') *

Snuffbox A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

(''Epioblasma triquetra'') *

Round pigtoe ''Pleurobema sintoxia'', the round pigtoe, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Distribution and conservation status This species is native to eastern North America. It is ...

(''Pleurobema sintoxia'') * Kidneyshell (''Ptychobranchus fasciolaris'') * Round hickorynut (''Obovaria subrotunda'') *

Rainbow mussel ''Villosa iris'', the rainbow mussel or rainbow-shell, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve mol ...

(''Villosa iris'') ;Two fish species and one turtle subspecies considered to be "threatened" *

Spotted gar The spotted gar (''Lepisosteus oculatus'') is a freshwater fish native to North America that has an abundance of dark spots on its head, fins, and dart-like body. Spotted gar have an elongated mouth with many needle-like teeth to catch other fi ...

(''Lepisosteus oculatus'') *

Eastern sand darter The eastern sand darter (''Ammocrypta pellucida'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The eastern sand ...

(''Ammocrypta pellucida'') * Eastern spiny softshell turtle (''Trionyx spiniferus spiniferus'') The

Northern madtom The northern madtom (''Noturus stigmosus'') is a freshwater fish. Ranges and habitat ''N. stigmosus'' can be found in the Ohio River valley stretching into distinct locations in Canada, where it is considered endangered. It is a fairly rare spe ...

(''Noturus stigmosus''), once found in the river, is considered to be "likely extirpated".

References

External links

Sydenham River WatershedSydenham River Recovery TeamSaint Clair Conservation Region
{{coord, 42.58683, N, 82.22460, W, display=title Lake St. Clair Rivers of Chatham-Kent Rivers of Lambton County Rivers of Middlesex County, Ontario Tributaries of Lake Erie

Fish species

See also

References

External links