The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of

artificial waterfall An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall. Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic ...

s on the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The falls are located just north of Mooney's Bay and the point where the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

splits from the Rideau River. Prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal, these were a gentle set of

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

originally known as Three Rock Rapids. The name Hog's Back came into use shortly before canal construction. Civil Engineer John MacTaggart, in 1827, described them as ''"a noted ridge of rocks, called the Hog’s Back, from the circumstances of raftsmen with their wares imber raftssticking on it in coming down the stream."'' These rapids were about 600 metres (2 000 feet) in length with a drop of about 1.8 metres (6 feet). They were navigable by canoe; no

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) 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 '' ...

was required. Hogs Back painting

As part of his concept for a slackwater navigation system, Lt. Colonel

John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...

's design for the Rideau Canal called for a large dam to be raised in this location. It would divert water from the Rideau River into the artificially-created section of the canal leading to the Ottawa locks. It would also flood the Three Island Rapids located upstream (the head of present-day Mooney's Bay marks the foot of these rapids). The building of this dam provided one of the greatest construction challenges (it collapsed three times during construction) of the Rideau Canal, but when completed in 1831, it flooded the Rideau River at that point by 12.5 metres (41 feet). To accommodate the natural flow of the Rideau River and to prevent damage from spring flooding, a large wastewater weir was constructed. The water from this flows through a channel that was excavated in the eastern bank of the Rideau River. This created the Hog's Back Falls that we see today. The head of the original rapids is now buried beneath the canal dam, but the lower section of the rapids can still be seen today. This location marks where the route of the Rideau Canal leaves the Rideau River and enters a manmade canal leading to the Ottawa locks. A series of

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

s lowers boats from this location to the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

External links

*
The story of the building of the Hogs Back Dam
{{Ottawa landmarks Parks in Ottawa Waterfalls of Ontario Landforms of Ottawa

See also

External links