Nipigon River
BW
Position of the Nipigon River north of Lake Superior
The Nipigon River Bridge, originally opened in 1937, forms a bottleneck in the Canadian transportation network between the Atlantic and Pacific
The river drains the Nipigonsee, flows in a southerly direction and empties into the Nipigon Bay, an inlet of Lake Superior. The height is at its discharge from the Nipigonsee 260 m. At its mouth it is still 183 m. End of May 2011, the average outflow at Alexander Dam 420 m³ / s
History
The Nipigon River was legendary for the amount and size of brook trout occurring here. The construction of four dams ( Cameron Falls Dam, Virgin Falls Dam ( built in 1925 ), Alexander Dam, Pine Portage Dam ) but along this stream led to a sharp decline in fish population.
Hydropower
North of the Nipigonsees is a part of the Ogoki River, a tributary of the Albany River diverted. Instead, as originally flowing into James Bay, now flow 121 m³ / s to the Nipigonsee and thus effectively enlarge the catchment area of the Nipigon River and increase the mean discharge and the usable quantity of water to generate electricity. The hydroelectric power stations on Cameron Falls Dam, Alexander Dam and Pine Portage Dam provide a combined annual capacity of about 2,144 TWh ( in 2002) .. All three hydropower plants operated by Ontario Power Generation. In the downstream direction, these are:
Fishing
The Nipigon River is a popular destination for anglers. In 1915 Dr. Cook began the then largest brook trout. Four years later spent Prince Edward, Prince of Wales ( later King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor ) a fishing vacation on the Nipigon River. A case caught char is now on display still in the National Archives of Canada. Several times a year you will find in the Nipigon River and American lake trout, rainbow trout and salmon. The migrating fish hit 15 km above the mouth to the first dam. The reservoirs above the dams are suitable for the capture of the American Arctic charr. The fishing season starts on 1 May and extends to the end of November.