Kaministiquia River
The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls. Painting by Frances Anne Hopkins, 1877
Template: Infobox River / Obsolete
The Kaministiquia River is a river in the Canadian province of Ontario.
It has its origins in the Dog Lake, a 55 -acre lake 40 km northwest of the city of Thunder Bay, whose outflow is regulated. Main tributary of Dog Lake, the Dog River dar.
The first kilometer sets the Kaministiquia River back in the Silver Falls Provincial Park. It flows south through the Little Dog Lake. In Kaministiquia the Kaministiquia River receives the right tributary Matawin River. Further south, about 30 km west of Thunder Bay, it passes the 40 m high Kakabeka Falls Waterfalls. He turns then to the east, takes the Whitefish River on flows about 30 km further to the east and flows south of Thunder Bay in Lake Superior.
The river's name is derived from the language of Ojibwe Indians and means " islands ", which refers to the two large islands that are located in the mouth of the river. The residents of this area call the river also briefly Kam. The estuary is a large river delta which divides into three branches of the river. The southern bears the name of Mission River, the central branch McKellar River and the northern Kaministiquia only. This river branches were expanded in the early 20th century to facilitate navigation on the river.
History
Similar to the Pigeon River and the Kaministiquia played a major role in the development of western Canada. During French rule in 1679 and 1717, and each trading posts were established in the year, which should make the fur trade. Still, the Canadian painter Paul Kane, who traveled to the Canadian West in the first half of the 19th century to capture the everyday life of the Indians in his sketches, used this river for his expeditions. After 1883, the course of the river Kaministiquia River was used to lay here by the Canadian Pacific Railway rail lines.
Hydropower
Ontario Power Generation operates two major hydropower plants on the River Kaministiquia. The Kakabeka hydroelectric power plant was built in 1906-1914. The four turbines together provide 25 MW.
The 1959 finished Silver Falls hydropower plant has a capacity of 48 MW. It uses the Dog Lake as a reservoir and uses the divide between Dog Lake and Little Dog Lake.