Lmst

#CanadaRivers

Good Morning #Canada
The Assiniboine River is 1,070 km long and runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The #16 emtry on our #CanadaRivers countdown, the Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in others. It drains a reasonably sized watershed of 182,000 km2 but a weak flow averaging 45 m3/s means it has changed course numerous times over past centuries, following its modern course for approximately 700 years. Flood control dikes and dams have been added to the upper steeper sections of the Assiniboine to reduce damage during spring melt and runoff.
Where the Red & Assiniboine rivers meet, in the heart of Winnipeg, is a area known as The Forks. It has played a complex role in the history of the region, as a meeting place for Indigenous People for 6,000 years and later as the 1st colonial settlement in western Canada.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-forks

Good Morning #Canada
We finally come to a river longer than 1,000 km with #17 on our #CanadaRivers countdown, but it comes with an asterisk. The Milk River, located in the extreme southeastern corner of Alberta, is the only river in Canada to flow into the Gulf of Mexico drainage basin. It has its source in Montana, flows north into Canada and then south to join the Missouri River near Fort Peck, Montana. Only 170 km of its total length of 1173 km is within Canada, and only 6,500 km2 of it's total 61,200 km2 watershed. In Alberta the river cuts a spectacular canyon, 150 m deep and over 1.5 km wide in places, straddling the Canada-US boundary. The river was named by Lewis and Clark because of the milky colour of the water coming off the glacier in the Rocky Mountains.
The best thing about the Milk River area is the nearby Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, a potential side tour if you're visiting Grasslands National Park.

#CanadaIsAwesome #ProvincialParks

https://youtu.be/5WfG_Snovdg

Good Morning #Canada
The Severn River, #19 on our #CanadaRivers countdown, flows for 982 km, from Deer Lake near Kenora to Fort Severn on the shore of Hudson's Bay. It's the same length as the Albany River (next on our list) and both are the longest rivers entirely within Ontario. The Severn River drainage basin area is 102,800 km2 , a small portion of which is in Manitoba, and it has a modest volume of 645 m3/s as it meanders northeast. Historical records state that the mouth of the river was located by the English in 1631, but I'm pretty sure Indigenous people discovered it a few thousand years before that. Fort Severn was established as a trading post in 1689 by the Hudson's Bay Company but was captured by Pierre le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville in 1690. The post, rebuilt in 1759, has been in continuous operation to this day making this community one of the oldest European settlements in Ontario.

#CanadaIsAwesome #HBC
https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/settlement-immigration/the-founding-of-fort-severn

Good Morning #Canada
#20 on our countdown of #CanadaRivers is the Back River, which flows for 974km across NWT and Nunavut. It drains an area of 106,500 km2, flowing from Contwoyto Lake north of Great Slave Lake, NWT, northeast across the Barren Lands of Nunavut to Chantrey Inlet in the Arctic. The river is named for Sir George Back, who first explored it in 1834. The original name was Thlew-ee-choh, likely Dogrib for "great fish river." It has a vertical drop of just over 380m over it's length with 83 rapids challenging serious canoists and kayakers. The British film, Beacon Six, was televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, showing the rugged landscape during a 1962 canoe expedition.
From 1963–1965, anthropologist Jean Briggs did field research with the Utkusiksalinmiut Inuit living at the opening of Back River and Chantrey Inlet, resulting in her work Never in Anger, as well as helping to compile an Utkuhiksalik dictionary.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Adventure
https://community.nrs.com/duct-tape/2014/10/17/35-days-arctic-canoeing-back-river/

Good Morning #Canada
We still have 20+ rivers to highlight in this #CanadaRivers series and a couple of things stand out. We are now listing rivers that are close to 1,000 kms, and despite the size there are many I've never heard of. Add in several million lakes and you gotta agree that Canada is blessed with #Hydrology features.
The Thelon River, called Akilinik in Inuit, is #21 on our list and stretches 904 kms across northern Canada. Its source is Whitefish Lake in the Northwest Territories, and it flows east to Baker Lake in Nunavut, ultimately draining into Hudson Bay. It is fed by a watershed of 142,400 km2 but with a vertical drop of less than 400 metres over its length it is not suitable for hydroelectric development. The Thelon is one of the easiest tundra rivers to paddle, with a steady current, few rapids and no portages. It therefore is a destination for paddling vacations and tourists looking to experience Canada's north.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Adventure #Canoeing
https://paddlingmag.com/trips/destinations/thelon-river/

#22 on our countdown is the 893 km La Grande River, which drains a modest watershed of 97,600 km2 in Quebec and flows westward into James Bay. In French, La Grande Rivière, and its original Cree name, Chisasibi, both mean "great river") and it is the second-longest river in the province. The river has been extensively developed as a source of hydroelectric power by Hydro-Québec, starting in 1974 a total of 8 hydroelectric dams have been built on the waterway. As a result of the development projects, the Cree people of the region lost parts of their traditional hunting and trapping territories. Organic mercury levels increased in the fish, which forms an important part of their diet, as the organic material is trapped by the rising waters in the new reservoirs.

#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadaRivers
https://chisasibi.ca/about-chisasibi/

Good Morning #Canada
Today is a twofer of #CanadaRivers as we countdown the longest rivers in Canada.
#23 is the Red River which flows for 890 km, originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, flowing northward through the Red River Valley and continuing into Manitoba. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into Hudson Bay. The river only falls 70 metres over it's length, so there are no hydroelectric opportunities, but because it drains a large watershed of 287,500 km2 it experiences significant spring volumes. This has led to calamitous (love that word) floods plaguing southern Manitoba for centuries. Flood canals and ice cutting (physical removal of large blocks every spring) have mitigated the risks but not eliminated them.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Hydrology
https://www.gov.mb.ca/mti/wms/floodcontrol/redriverbasin/historic.html

Good Morning #Canada
We move onto #24 in our countdown of #CanadaRivers with the Koksoak River. At 874 km it is the largest river in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec. The name Koksoak is believed to originate from Moravian missionaries who evangelized among the Inuit of the area at the beginning of British rule and incorrectly spelled the Inuktitut word Kuujjuaq, meaning "great river." It drains a watershed of 133,400 km/2 and because of its volume, 2,800 square metres per second, its waters have been diverted as part of the massive James Bay hydroelectric project. That project drowned 7,000 square miles of Cree hunting land causing decades of conflict between Indigenous peoples and the Quebec government, with major issues resolved by a treaty signed in 2002.
Two rivers into our countdown and I'm sensing a trend: big river -> hydroelectric development -> trampling of Indigenous rights -> treaty to resolve injustices.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koksoak_River

Good Morning #Canada
It's time for our first post in the #CanadaRivers series with #25 in our countdown. The Churchill River, in Atlantic Canada, flows for 856 km from Lake Melville into the Atlantic Ocean. It drains a watershed that covers 79,800 km/2 and has an average volume of 1,580 square metres per second.
The power development at Churchill Falls has backed up the river and created the enormous Smallwood Reservoir. Farther upstream, a hydroelectric plant at the outfall from Menihek Lakes provides power for the former iron-mining town of Schefferville, Québec. With a heavy flow and large drop from the Labrador Plateau, the river has probably the greatest hydroelectric potential of any in North America. The Churchill Falls Generating Station deserves it's own post as it is a massive 5,428 MW underground hydro power plant.
Don't get used to calling it the Churchill River as there are recent campaigns to return to its traditional native name.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/churchill-river-innu-name-change-mishta-shipu-1.6444142

Good Morning #Canada
It's a brisk -23°C this morning but the infallible #Weather app is telling me that we will be -5°C or warmer over the next few weeks. Break out the shorts, Spring has arrived.
In preparation for the big thaw, I think we need a semi-regular series on the top 25 rivers in Canada. Why top 25? Hey, it's my account, my nonsensical rules. We'll count down to #1 in terms of length because size matters.
Today an honourable mention, the St. Lawrence River, commonly referred to as the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although one of the most recognizable rivers in eastern Canada, and one that drains the largest watershed on the planet, it doesn't make it into the top 50 longest rivers in the country.

#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography #CanadaRivers
https://youtu.be/IjKoi1_ZCQk