Berens River

BW

The Berens River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

It has its origin in an unnamed lake in Kenora District, Ontario. From there it flows west to Manitoba and finally ends near the First Nation settlement Berens River in Winnipeg. The lake has several lakes and rapids along its course.

History

The river was a traditional hunting and fishing grounds of the First Nations for thousands of years. 1767 first European explorers reached the river. They had previously crossed the Severn River and then navigated the Berens River downstream to Lake Winnipeg. The river was named after Joseph Berens, a governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC ).

Several HBC trading post and one of the North West Company were at the river mouth, upper stream, and built at the mouth of the Pigeon River farther south in the years 1814 and later. The river system thus became part of the HBC trading route.

Natural history

The Berens River is one of the last rivers in southern Canada, which has so far received very little natural intervention. There are no main roads in the area. The catchment area is an important habitat of the woodland caribou.

Transport routes

The provincial government of Ontario announced in 2009 to finance a study on the construction of a permanent bridge over the Berens River known which would be available at a winter road. In the south, this would connect to an all-weather road to the Ontario Highway 125, in the north to the settlements of the Deer Lake First Nation, North Spirit Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation. The exact location of the bridge would be east and above the Berens Lake.

Settlements along the river

• Berens River ( Manitoba )
• Little Grand Rapids ( Manitoba ), at the Family Lake about 115 km south-east of the river mouth.
• Poplar Hill First Nation, Ontario
• Pikangikum First Nation, Ontario

Inflows

• Keeper River ( left)
• Crooked River Mouth (right)
• Pikangikum Lake Dowling River ( left)