Mississippi River (Ontario)

The Mississippi River in Antrim

The Mississippi River is a tributary of the Ottawa River in eastern Ontario ( Canada).

From its source in Upper Mazinaw Lake to the estuary east of Arnprior it drains for a length of 169 km an area of 3750 km ². The average discharge is 40 m³ / s

According to the source at the Kawartha Lakes of the Mississippi flows towards the Northeast through the lakes Crotch Lake, Dalhousie Lake and Mississippi Lake, touched Carleton Place (Ontario), flows through the municipality of Mississippi Mills and the town of Almonte and then turns north to the Ottawa River.

Major tributaries are:

• Clyde River
• Indian River
• Fall River

The water power was used earlier for textile mills, today there are several hydroelectric stations on the river.

The Purdon Conservation Area, a marshland in the catchment area of the river, is home to Canada's largest population of native orchid Showy Lady Slipper ( Cypripedium reginae ) with about 16,000 plants.

The name origin is a mystery. Today's spelling may be due from the U.S. namesake Mississippi River, but it is most likely a parody of another indigenous name. The river is not really a " Big Water ", also in comparison to the Ottawa River, which is by far the largest river in the area. It is believed that the name of Mazinaa [ bikinigan ] - ziibi, Algonkian for " Painted Image Flow " is derived, which could refer to the petroglyphs at Mazinaw Lake.