Margaree River

Last updated
Margaree River
Margaree river sm.jpg
The Margaree River at Gillisdale
Location
Country Canada
Province Nova Scotia
Physical characteristics
Mouth  
  location
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
  coordinates
46°25′38.3″N61°5′50.4″W / 46.427306°N 61.097333°W / 46.427306; -61.097333 (Margaree River) Coordinates: 46°25′38.3″N61°5′50.4″W / 46.427306°N 61.097333°W / 46.427306; -61.097333 (Margaree River)
  elevation
sea level
Length120 km (75 mi)
Basin size1,375 km2 (531 sq mi) [1]

The Margaree River (Abhainn Mhargaraidh) is a river on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The northeast branch of the river derives from the watershed of the Cape Breton Highlands, while the Southwest Margaree flows northeast from Lake Ainslie. The two branches join at Margaree Forks. The river then flows north to empty into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at Margaree Harbour, Nova Scotia. The river is 120 km in length and drains an area of 1,375 km². The Margaree has been well known for a century for its trout and Atlantic salmon sport fishery, that draws anglers from near and far. Fishing is highly regulated now and is restricted to fly fishing only, with barbless hooks, in the main stem of the river. Famed American angler and Atlantic salmon conservationist Lee Wulff caught his first salmon on a fly on the Margaree in 1933. [2]

Contents

The gravel bars of the upper Northeast Margaree provide spawning grounds for Atlantic salmon; its steep valleys provide habitat for American marten and the rare Gaspé shrew. The Margaree Valley includes a mix of farms and woodlands.

During the 18th century, Acadians settled along the coast near the mouth of the river; the French name for this river was St. Marguerite. Scottish Highlanders began to settle in the Margaree Valley at the beginning of the 19th century.

Moses Coady, a noted son of the Margaree Valley, attended school in Margaree Forks and later, taught there before completing his education in Antigonish and Rome. [3]

The Margaree was designated a Canadian Heritage River in 1998.

HMCS Margaree, a World War II Canadian naval destroyer, was named after this river.

See also

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The Margaree Salmon Association is a wildlife conservation group that was established in 1982 in Margaree, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization, that dedicates itself to restoration ecology, through conservation, protection and enhancement of spawning and rearing habitat of the salmonid lineage; specific to the Atlantic salmon and trout species. The association engineers habitat enhancing structures into tributaries of the Margaree River watershed. The Margaree River is public domain, attracting yearly visits by anglers near and far. The Association was involved in the nomination and designation of the Margaree River-Lake Ainslie watershed; as a Canadian Heritage Rivers System. As well, the Association works in collaboration with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, to assist with scientific study in areas of broodstock collection, stock assessment and water quality sampling.

References

  1. Natural History of Nova Scotia Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Volume 1, p. 152
  2. Sampson, Jack (1995). "A New Life" . Lee Wulff. Portland, Oregon: Frank Amato. pp.  26–41. ISBN   1571880194.
  3. Jim Lotz. Moses Coady: The Humble Giant, Novalis, St. Paul University, Ottawa, 2005, p. 17

Further reading