Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map.
Create AccountThe Richelieu River has played a prominent role in the historical development of Québec. Originally inhabited by Iroquois, Huron and Algonquin, Samuel de CHAMPLAIN navigated its waters shortly after his arrival in 1608.
The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, stretching 1,375 km. It begins on the western side of the Rocky Mountains at Mount Robson Provincial Park, and ends in the Strait of Georgia at Vancouver. Named for explorer Simon Fraser, the river was a transportation route and source of food for the Indigenous people of the region long before Fraser travelled its waters. In 1858, gold was discovered on sandbars south of Yale, setting off the Fraser River Gold rush.
The Bonnet Plume River begins its journey in the Mackenzie Mountains on the Yukon and NWT border.
The Columbia River runs from the southeast corner of British Columbia through Washington and Oregon states to the Pacific Ocean.
The Niagara River, 58 km long, issues from Lake Erie and flows north over Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario. The river’s drainage area is about 684,000 km2, and its average flow at Queenston is 5,885 m3/s. The Niagara River forms part of the border between Canada and the United States.
The Athabasca River is the longest river in Alberta (1,538 km). The first 168 km (located in Jasper National Park) are designated as a Canadian Heritage River. As a tributary to the Mackenzie River, water flowing on the Athabasca River eventually drains into the Arctic Ocean. River flow is highest during the summer and lowest during winter, and it is ice-covered from mid-November to mid-April.
The St Lawrence Seaway (Great Lakes Waterway) is the system of locks, canals and channels linking the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River with the Atlantic Ocean.
The Rouge River is a tributary of the Ottawa River. Its source is Lac de la Fougère, in the northeast part of Rouge-Matawin Wildlife Reserve in Québec.
Nagwichoonjik, meaning "river flowing through a big country," is the Gwich'in name for the Mackenzie River, the longest river in Canada and the 9th longest river in the world. The river flows through the heart of the traditional homeland of the Gwichya Gwich'in, who now largely reside in Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River), a small community of 200 people at the confluence of the Arctic Red and Mackenzie rivers, in the northern part of the Northwest Territories. ( See also Indigenous Territory).
Thelon River, 904 km long, issues from Lynx Lake, east of Great Slave Lake, NWT.
Dubawnt River, 842 km long, rises from a web of lakes in the Northwest Territories, 120 km northeast of Lake Athabasca, flows northeast, gathering the waters of Wholdaia, Boyd, Barlow, Nicholson, Dubawnt, Wharton and Marjorie lakes, and turns abruptly northwest to join the Thelon River at Beverly Lake.
The names of many rivers and lakes in Canada have Indigenous origins. These bodies of water are named for Indigenous people, places, and aspects of Indigenous culture. Some of these lakes and rivers still bear the original name given to them by Indigenous people. Others have been renamed using an Indigenous word as a means of recognizing Indigenous history and working toward reconciliation. This list article explores the Indigenous names of five rivers and five lakes in Canada. (See also Longest Rivers in Canada and Largest Lakes in Canada.)
At 3,185 km (1,149 km of which lie in Canada), the Yukon River is the fifth-longest river in North America.
The St. Lawrence River is a grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. The river proper, about 1,197 km long, issues from Lake Ontario, flows northeast past Montreal and Quebec City to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The route of early explorers and the main axis of New France, the St. Lawrence River figured prominently in Canada's early history, and it remains the focus of settlement for much of the province of Quebec. It is still the most important commercial waterway in Canada, as well as a source of electric power and natural beauty. (See also St Lawrence Lowland.)
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
When the first sod was turned near Cornwall, Ont., August 10, 1954, it was not so much the beginning of the great St Lawrence Seaway as a continuation of centuries of dreams.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
