Nottawasaga River | |
---|---|
Etymology | From the Algonquin words for "Iroquois" and "river outlet" |
Native name | Naadawe-zaaga-ziibi (Ojibwe) |
Location | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Region | Central Ontario |
Counties | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Orangeville Reservoir |
• location | Orangeville, Dufferin County |
• coordinates | 43°56′29″N80°05′29″W / 43.94139°N 80.09139°W |
• elevation | 412 m (1,352 ft) |
Mouth | Nottawasaga Bay |
• location | Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County |
• coordinates | 44°32′12″N80°00′29″W / 44.53667°N 80.00806°W |
• elevation | 176 m (577 ft) |
Length | 120 km (75 mi) |
Basin size | 3,361 km2 (1,298 sq mi) |
Basin features | |
River system | Great Lakes Basin |
Tributaries | |
• left | Boyne River |
The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. [1] It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, Dufferin County, through the Niagara Escarpment [2] and the Minesing Wetlands, the latter a wetland of international significance (Ramsar Convention site), and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, at the town of Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County.
The river takes its name from the Ojibwe word "Nottawasaga". Nottawa (or Naadowe in modern orthography) means "Iroquois" and saga (zaagi in modern orthography) means "mouth of the river"; the word "Nottawasaga" (Naddowe-zaagi in modern orthography) was used by Algonquin scouts as a warning if they saw Iroquois raiding parties approaching their villages. [3]
Thus, the name of the river, in Ojibwe is Naadawe-zaaga-ziibi. [4]
The Nottawasaga River's headwaters originate in the Niagara Escarpment, Simcoe Uplands, Oak Ridges Moraine and Oro Moraine. [2] The area of the drainage basin is 3,361 square kilometres (1,298 sq mi), [5] and as well as Dufferin County and Simcoe County, is located in Grey County and the Regional Municipality of Peel.
The Nottawasaga River is the resting home of HMS Nancy, a merchant schooner taken into the Royal Navy during the War of 1812. It met three American warships: USS Niagara, USS Tigress and USS Scorpion. The small ship lost the battle but Lt. Miller Worsley and crew escaped. They rowed 360 miles to Fort Michilimackinac and three days later, Worsley returned with 92 men to take the Tigress and Scorpion. Since her sinking, an island formed around the Nancy. The hull is now preserved in a museum at Nancy Island Historic Site which is a part of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.
Fish ladders allow rainbow trout to reach spawning grounds on the upper river. The river is under the auspices of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.
The Humber River is a river in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.
Mono is a town situated in south-central Ontario, Canada, at the south-east corner of Dufferin County. It stretches from Highway 9 along its southern border to Highway 89 along its northern border. Its border to the west is with the Township of Amaranth and in the east, it is bordered by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio. It was previously known as the Township of Mono.
Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of 1,486.31 square kilometres (573.87 sq mi), and its population was 61,735 at the time of the 2016 Census.
Etobicoke Creek is a river in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is a tributary of Lake Ontario and runs from Caledon to southern Etobicoke, part of the City of Toronto. The creek is within the jurisdiction of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
Clearview is a rural incorporated township in Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada, west of Barrie and south of Collingwood and Wasaga Beach in Simcoe County.
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood. Within Peel Region, it is a major urban thoroughfare within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, which serves as the divide from which cross-streets are split into East and West, except at its foot in the historic Mississauga neighbourhood of Port Credit. Farther north, with the exception of the section through Simcoe County, where it forms the 8th Concession, it is the meridian for the rural municipalities it passes through. In Dufferin County, for instance, parallel roads are labelled as EHS or WHS for East of Hurontario Street.
Nottawasaga Bay is a sub-bay within Georgian Bay in Southern Ontario, Canada located at the southernmost end of the main bay. The communities located on Nottawasaga Bay are Meaford, The Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Wasaga Beach and Tiny.
King's Highway 9, commonly referred to as Highway 9, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Highway 9 has been divided into two segments since January 1, 1998, when the segment between Harriston and Orangeville was downloaded to the various counties in which it resided. The western segment of the highway begins at Highway 21 in Kincardine, near the shores of Lake Huron. It travels 73 km (45 mi) to the junction of Highway 23 and Highway 89 in Harriston. The central segment is now known as Wellington County Road 109 and Dufferin County Road 109. At Highway 10 in Orangeville, Highway 9 resumes and travels east to Highway 400. The highway once continued east to Yonge Street in Newmarket, but is now known as York Regional Road 31.
The series of Engagements on Lake Huron left the British in control of the lake and their Native American allies in control of the Old Northwest for the latter stages of the War of 1812.
Conservation Ontario is the network of Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities.
Minesing Wetlands, previously known as Minesing Swamp, is a Ramsar boreal wetland in central Ontario, Canada stretching from the western periphery of Barrie to Georgian Bay. It was identified and classified through the International Biological Program. It is "the largest and best example of fen bog in southern Ontario", one of the "most diverse undisturbed wetland tracts in Canada" and is a provincially significant Area of Natural and Scientific Interest. The term minesing is of Ojibwe origin and means "island", referring to an island located within Lake Edenvale, which encompassed the present-day wetlands and surrounding areas.
Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located on the Niagara Escarpment within the township of Mono, Ontario, Canada. It is managed by Ontario Parks. Approximately 80% of the Cannings Falls Area of Natural and Scientific Interest is within the borders of the park; land acquisitions are planned to encompass it entirely. The Bruce Trail links the reserve to other protected areas of the Niagara Escarpment.
King's Highway 92, also known as Highway 92, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route connected Highway 26 west of Wasaga Beach with Highway 27 in Elmvale. Highway 92 was established in 1936, although it did not extend through Wasaga Beach to Highway 26 until the early 1980s. The entire route was downloaded in 1997 and transferred to Simcoe County. Today, the section of the former highway outside Wasaga Beach is known as Simcoe County Road 92.
The Oro Moraine is a glacial moraine in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers 141 square kilometres (54 sq mi) north of Barrie, Ontario. The moraine drains into Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, and the smaller Lake Simcoe.
The Boyne River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a left tributary of the Nottawasaga River. The rivers falls within the jurisdiction of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.
The Beaver River is a river in Grey County and Simcoe County in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river's drainage basin is under the auspices of Grey Sauble Conservation.
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The Black River is a river in the Regional Municipality of York and the Regional Municipality of Durham in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Simcoe; the entire watershed is under the auspices of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.
The Toronto waterway system comprises a series of natural and man-made watercourses in the Canadian city of Toronto. The city is dominated by a large river system spanning most of the city including the Don River, Etobicoke Creek, Highland Creek, Humber River, Mimico Creek and Rouge River.