Gananoque River
| Gananoque River | |
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| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Eastern Ontario |
| County | Leeds and Grenville United Counties |
| Part of | Atlantic Ocean drainage basin |
| Source | Gananoque Lake |
| - location | Leeds and the Thousand Islands |
| - elevation | 82 m (269 ft) |
| - coordinates | 44°26′16″N 76°08′55″W / 44.43778°N 76.14861°W |
| Mouth | Saint Lawrence River |
| - location | Gananoque |
| - elevation | 78 m (256 ft) |
| - coordinates | 44°19′32″N 76°09′34″W / 44.32556°N 76.15944°WCoordinates: 44°19′32″N 76°09′34″W / 44.32556°N 76.15944°W |
  Location of the mouth of the Gananoque River in southern Ontario
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The Gananoque River is a river in Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river is in the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Saint Lawrence River.
The name "Gananoque" has been spelled many different ways over the years and so has been assigned several different interpretations, including "place of health" or "meeting place".
The Gananoque River Waterways Association was founded in 1963 to include "...property owners, resort operators, fishermen, farmers, trappers and all other interested parties..." for the purpose of getting together to "Protect wild life, arrange for equitable water levels, facilitate navigation, maintain health standards through the purity of the water [and] confer with officials in regard to definite arrangements for maintaining and improving the waterway for everyone's use."
The Gananoque River begins at Gananoque Lake in incorporated Leeds and the Thousand Islands township. It flows south, passes through the community of Marble Rock, then turns southwest and reaches the community of Maple Grove. It heads again south, takes in the right tributary Mud Creek, passes under Ontario Highway 401, and enters the town of Gananoque. It then flows over the concrete dam for the Gananoque Generating Station, in service since 1939, and empties into the Saint Lawrence River where that river is part of the Thousand Islands region.
Originally the Gananoque watershed included waters south of the present day Rideau River / Cataraqui River watershed divide near Newboro, Ontario. Water from present day upper Cataraqui watershed lakes such as Birch, Canoe, Buck, Devil, Newboro, Clear, Indian, Benson, Opinicon and Sand flowed through the Jones Falls rapids to the White Fish River. That river flowed into Lower Beverley Lake and from there to the Gananoque River. The original native canoe route from the Ottawa River, via the Rideau River, went to the White Fish River and from there to the St. Lawrence River at Gananoque. This was due to the fact that a direct waterway connection to the Cataraqui River did not exist at that time.
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Wikipedia