Ottawa River

From Encyclopediak

Ottawa River, a river of Canada, forming part of the boundary line between Ontario and Quebec. It rises 160 miles, north of Ottawa in the Laurentian divide, which separates the basin of the St. Lawrence from that of Hudson Bay, and flows southwest 625 miles, emptying into the St. Lawrence, of which it is the chief tributary. Its tributaries are the Gatineau, Rideau and the Riviere du Lievre. Several rapids and cataracts, chief among which is the Chaudiere Falls, render navigation impracticable above a distance of 250 m. from its mouth, except for the passage of timber from the interior forests to the lumber mills of Hull and Ottawa. The Ottawa was the old portage trail for the fur traders and explorers for a century and a half.