Avon River (Nova Scotia)
| Avon River | |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Physical characteristics | |
| River mouth |
Minas Basin sea level |
| Length | 64 km (40 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 1,306 km2 (504 sq mi) |
The Avon River is a small river in central Nova Scotia, Canada.
A northerly flowing river, the Avon River's flow rises at an elevation of 145 metres (475 ft.) at Card and Bag Lakes on the South Mountain, a distance of approximately 29 kilometres (18 miles) southwest of the town of Windsor. Its meander length is 64 km (40 mi). At Windsor Forks the main tributary, the West Branch Avon River, adds its flow, along with that of the Southwest Branch Avon, to the Avon. The West Branch Avon River rises at an elevation of 175 metres (574 ft.) at Black River Lake. Both the flows of the Avon and the West Branch have been impeded by hydropower developments in the early twentieth century. Near the rural community of , the river enters a broad glacial river valley forming a ria where it becomes tidal, creating an estuary for its remaining route to the Minas Basin several kilometres downriver from the town of Hantsport. Another tributary, the St. Croix River joins just below Windsor creating a total watershed of 1,306 square kilometres.
Rivers flowing into the Avon include the Halfway, Herbert, Cogmagun, Kennetcook and St. Croix.
The Avon River is evident on many very early maps of the region and by 1686 is shown, along with its drainage basin, on Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin's map in great detail.
In 1970 the Avon River was completely obstructed by a rock and earth fill causeway immediately downstream from Windsor at its junction with the St. Croix River as part of the development of a controlled access expressway called Highway 101.
The Avon River Causeway replaced an existing road bridge upriver from town and also resulted in the rerouting of the Dominion Atlantic Railway's Halifax-Yarmouth main line which used to run through Windsor's downtown, crossing the river on a bridge parallel to the road bridge immediately upriver from the town.
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