Mississippi River (Ontario)
| Mississippi River | |
|---|---|
Mississippi River with 5-arch stone bridge at Pakenham
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| Country | Canada |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Upper Mazinaw Lake |
| River mouth |
Ottawa River at 74 m (243 ft) 45°26′29″N 76°17′07″W / 45.44139°N 76.28528°WCoordinates: 45°26′29″N 76°17′07″W / 45.44139°N 76.28528°W |
| Length | 200 km (120 mi) |
| Discharge |
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| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 4,450 km2 (1,720 sq mi) |
The Mississippi River is a tributary of the Ottawa River in eastern Ontario in Canada. It is 200 kilometres (120 mi) in length from its source in Upper Mazinaw Lake, has a drainage area of 4,450 square kilometres (1,720 sq mi), and has a mean discharge of 40 cubic metres per second (1,400 cu ft/s). There are more than 250 lakes in the watershed.
Communities along the river include the village of Lanark, the towns of Carleton Place, Mississippi Mills (including towns of Almonte and Pakenham), and Galetta. Here it enters the Ottawa River.
The origin of the river's name is something of a mystery; although its current spelling may be derived from that of its much larger American cousin, it is most certainly a corruption of a different native name, as the translation 'great water' would not apply to a relatively minor tributary of the Ottawa, definitely the largest river in the area. Instead, the name may originate from "Mazinaa[bikinigan]-ziibi", Algonquian for '[painted] image river', referring to the pictographs found on Mazinaw Lake, though this is by no means proven.
From its headwaters at Mazinaw Lake to its confluence at the Ottawa River near Fitzroy Harbour, the river drops 323 metres (1,060 ft) in elevation. It begins on the Canadian Shield (mostly gneiss and marble), and then, after Carleton Place, flows through limestone and clay plains. At Carleton Place, there are rapids with limestone cliffs. This area supports the largest stand of hackberry trees in the region.
Most of the upper landscape is temperate deciduous forest dominated by sugar maple, American beech, and red oak. At one time, the forests had much more eastern hemlock, but this was logged out to produce bark for the tanning industry. Now, large hemlock stands are uncommon. Most forests are less than a century old.
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Wikipedia