Gatineau River
| Gatineau River | |
| Rivière Gatineau | |
 The upper Gatineau River
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| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Outaouais |
| Source | Unnamed wilderness |
| - location | near boundary between Outaouais and Mauricie regions |
| Mouth | Ottawa River |
| - location | City of Gatineau |
| - coordinates | 45°27′15″N 75°41′42″W / 45.45417°N 75.69500°WCoordinates: 45°27′15″N 75°41′42″W / 45.45417°N 75.69500°W |
| Length | 386 km (240 mi) |
| Basin | 23,724 km2 (9,160 sq mi) |
| Discharge | for Paugan Power Station |
| - average | 350 m3/s (12,360 cu ft/s) |
 Map of the Ottawa River drainage basin with the Gatineau River
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The Gatineau River (French pronunciation: [gatino]) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is 386 km (239.8 mi) long and drains an area of 23,700 km².
While it has been said that the river's name comes from Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who is said to have drowned in the river in 1683, the original inhabitants, the Algonquin Anicinabek, assert that the name comes from their language. The name they give the river is "Te-nagàdino-zìbi", which means "The River that Stops [One's Journey]".
The geography of the area was altered with the construction of the Baskatong Reservoir, and it is still possible to travel upstream on the Gatineau and reach a point where a small portage will bring you to the headwaters of the Ottawa River. The Ottawa River then flows northwest and turns south where it eventually flows more easterly and connects with the Gatineau.
The river flows through the communities of:
A covered wooden bridge over the river at Wakefield, built in 1915, was destroyed by arson in 1984, but has been rebuilt.
This river was an important transportation corridor for native people of the region and early explorers. On June 4, 1613, Samuel de Champlain passed here while travelling on the Ottawa River to L'Isle-aux-Allumettes. He wrote:
We passed near a river coming from the north, where a people called "Algoumequins" can be found, which drains into the great St-Lawrence River, three leagues downstream from the Saint-Louis Falls, makes an island of nearly forty leagues, and which is not large but filled with an indefinite number of falls which are very difficult to pass. Sometimes, these people use this river to avoid meeting their enemies, knowing that they will not seek them in such difficult accessible places.
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Wikipedia