Difference between revisions of "Saint Lawrence River" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox_river | river_name = Saint Lawrence River
 
{{Infobox_river | river_name = Saint Lawrence River
 
   | image_name = Grlakes_lawrence_map.png
 
   | image_name = Grlakes_lawrence_map.png
 
   | caption = Map of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Watershed
 
   | caption = Map of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Watershed
 
   | origin = Lake Ontario
 
   | origin = Lake Ontario
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   | mouth = [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]]/[[Atlantic Ocean]]
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   | mouth = [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]]/[[Atlantic Ocean]]
 
   | basin_countries = [[Canada]] ([[Ontario]], [[Quebec]]) <br /> [[United States]] ([[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[New York]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Vermont]], [[Wisconsin]])
 
   | basin_countries = [[Canada]] ([[Ontario]], [[Quebec]]) <br /> [[United States]] ([[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[New York]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Vermont]], [[Wisconsin]])
−
   | length = 1,197 km
+
   | length = 1,197 km (744 mi)
 
   | elevation = 250 m (820 ft)
 
   | elevation = 250 m (820 ft)
−
   | discharge = 10,400 m&sup3;/s (367,328 ft&sup3;/s)
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   | discharge = 10,400 m³/s (367,328 cu ft/s)
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   | watershed = 1,030,000 km&sup2; (397,683 mi&sup2;)
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   | watershed = 1,030,000 km² (397,683 sq mi)
 
}}
 
}}
  
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The '''Saint Lawrence River''' (French: '''fleuve Saint-Laurent''') is a large west-to-east flowing river in the middle latitudes of [[North America]], connecting the [[Great Lakes]] with the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. It was called ''Kaniatarowanenneh'' ("big waterway") in the Mohawk language. It traverses the Canadian province of [[Quebec]] and forms part of the border between the state of [[New York]] in the [[United States]] and the province of [[Ontario]] in [[Canada]].  
+
The '''Saint Lawrence River''' (In [[French language|French]]: '' fleuve Saint-Laurent'') is a large south west-to-north east flowing [[river]] in the middle latitudes of [[North America]], connecting the [[Great Lakes]] with the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. It is the primary drainage of the [[Great Lakes Basin]]. It is called ''Kaniatarowanenneh'' ("big waterway") in [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]]. It traverses the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian provinces]] of [[Quebec]] and [[Ontario]] and forms part of the [[Canada-United States border|international boundary]] between Ontario, Canada, and the [[U.S. state]] of [[New York]].  
  
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The part of the river named the Saint Lawrence is born at the outflow of [[Lake Ontario]] at Kingston, Ontario. From there, it passes Brockville and Cornwall in Ontario, and Quebec's [[Montreal]], Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City, before draining into the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]], the largest estuary in the world. It runs 3,058 kilometers (1,900 miles) from the furthest headwater to the mouth (and 1,197 km or 744 miles from the outflow of Lake Ontario). The furthest headwater is the North River in the [[Mesabi Range]] of [[Minnesota]]. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of freshwater lakes, has a size of 1.03 million km². The average discharge at the mouth is 10,400 m³/s.
+
==Geography==
 +
The Saint Lawrence River originates at the outflow of [[Lake Ontario]] between [[Kingston, Ontario]] on the north bank, [[Wolfe Island]] in mid-stream, and [[Cape Vincent, New York]] on the south bank.
  
−
The river includes [[Lac Saint-Louis]] south of Montreal, [[Lac Saint-François]] at [[Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec]] and [[Lac Saint-Pierre]] east of Montreal. It surrounds such islands as the [[Thousand Islands]] near Kingston, the [[Island of Montreal]], [[Île Jésus]] ([[Laval, Quebec|Laval]]), [[Île d'Orléans]] near Quebec City, and [[Anticosti Island]] north of the [[Gaspé]].
+
From there, it passes [[Gananoque, Ontario|Gananoque]], [[Brockville, Ontario|Brockville]], [[Ogdensburg, New York|Ogdensburg]], [[Massena, New York|Massena]], [[Cornwall, Ontario|Cornwall]], [[Montreal]], [[Trois-Rivières]], and [[Quebec City]] before draining into the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]], the largest [[estuary]] in the world. It runs 3,058 kilometers (1,900 mi) from the furthest headwater to the mouth (1,197 kilometers or 744 mi from the outflow of Lake Ontario). The furthest headwater is the [[North River (Minnesota)|North River]] in the [[Mesabi Range]] at [[Hibbing]] [[Minnesota]]. Its drainage area, which  includes the Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of fresh water lakes, has a size of 1.03 million square kilometers (390,000 sq mi). The average discharge at the mouth is 10,400 cubic metres per second (367,000 cu ft/s).
  
−
[[Lake Champlain]] and the Ottawa, Richelieu, and Saguenay rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.
+
The river includes [[Lake Saint-Louis]] south of Montreal, [[Lac Saint-François]] at [[Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec|Salaberry-de-Valleyfield]] and [[Lac Saint-Pierre]] east of Montreal. It surrounds such islands as the [[Thousand Islands]] near Kingston, the [[Island of Montreal]], [[Île Jésus]] ([[Laval, Quebec|Laval]]), [[Île d'Orléans]] near Québec City, and [[Anticosti Island]] north of the [[Gaspé]].
  
−
The first European to navigate the St. Lawrence was [[Jacques Cartier]], who in 1534 first sighted the river and also claimed [[New France]] for [[Francis I]]. Until the early 1600s, the French used the name ''Rivi&egrave;re du Canada'' to designate the Saint Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The Saint Lawrence River served as the main route for exploration of the North American interior from Europe.
+
[[Lake Champlain]] and the [[Ottawa River|Ottawa]], [[Richelieu River|Richelieu]], and [[Saguenay River|Saguenay]] rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.
  
−
The St. Lawrence was formerly continuously navigable only as far as Montreal due to the [[Lachine Rapids]]. The [[Lachine Canal]] was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids; the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]], an extensive system of canals and locks, now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to [[Lake Superior]].
+
The Saint Lawrence River is in a seismically active zone where [[fault (geology)|fault]] reactivation is believed to occur along late [[Proterozoic]] to early [[Paleozoic]] normal faults related to the opening of [[Iapetus Ocean]]. The faults in the area are [[rift]] related, which is called the [[Saint Lawrence rift system]].
  
−
[[Image:DSCN4262 rmosesspstlawrence e.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Ontario border]]
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[[Image:Pont de l'ile 2.JPG|center|700px|thumb|Saint Lawrence River between [[Quebec City]] (seen at left) and [[Lévis]] (seen at right).  The [[Île d'Orléans]] appears further in the center.]]
 +
 
 +
==History==
 +
The first known European explorer to navigate the St. Lawrence was [[Jacques Cartier]], who sighted the [[Bay of Chaleur]] in 1534 and also claimed [[New France]] for [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. The land was inhabited at the time by the [[St. Lawrence Iroquoians]].  He returned to the area the following year. Arriving at the Gulf on [[St. Lawrence]]' feast day, he accordingly named it the '''Gulf of St. Lawrence'''.<ref>William Henry Johnson, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21543/ ''French Pathfinders in North America''], Project Gutenberg. Retrieved December 21, 2007.</ref> The river was also navigated by French explorer [[Samuel de Champlain]].
 +
 
 +
[[Image:Dauphin Map of Canada - circa 1543 - Project Gutenberg etext 20110.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of 1543 showing Cartier's discoveries.]]
 +
Until the early 1600s, the French used the name ''Rivière du Canada'' to designate the Saint Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The Saint Lawrence River served as the main route for exploration of the North American interior.
 +
 
 +
The St. Lawrence was formerly continuously navigable only as far as Montreal because of the virtually impassible [[Lachine Rapids]]. The [[Lachine Canal]] was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids; the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]], an extensive system of canals and locks, now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to [[Lake Superior]].  The Seaway was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] (representing Canada) and President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] (representing the United States of America).
 +
 
 +
In the late 1970s, the river was the subject of a successful ecological campaign (called "Save the River"), originally responding to planned development by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]].  The campaign was organized, among others, by [[Abbie Hoffman]], then on the run under the pseudonym of Barry Freed.
  
 
==Names==
 
==Names==
−
A note on translation: Occasionally, the French name ''fleuve Saint-Laurent'' is wrongly translated as Saint Lawrence Seaway, from the use of the word ''fleuve'', not ''rivi&egrave;re''. However, the word ''fleuve'' simply means a river that runs to the sea, and is appropriately translated by ''river''. The seaway is a system of artificial canals, and is called in French ''voie maritime du Saint-Laurent''.
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[[Image:DSCN4262 rmosesspstlawrence e.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Ontario border]]
 +
Occasionally, the French name '''''fleuve Saint-Laurent''''' is wrongly translated as Saint Lawrence Seaway since it uses the word ''fleuve'' and not ''rivière''. However, the word ''fleuve'' means a large river, which runs to the ocean or sea. There is no word in English that distinguishes this type of a river from others, and thus is appropriately translated by ''river''. The seaway is a system of artificial canals and is called in French ''la voie maritime du Saint-Laurent''.
  
−
The source of the North River in the [[Mesabi Range]] in [[Minnesota]] is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the Saint Lawrence River frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:
+
The source of the North River in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:
  
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* [[North River (Saint Louis)|North River]]
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* [[North River (Minnesota)|North River]]
 
* [[Saint Louis River]]
 
* [[Saint Louis River]]
 
* [[Lake Superior]]
 
* [[Lake Superior]]
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* [[Lake Huron]]
 
* [[Lake Huron]]
 
* [[St. Clair River|Saint Clair River]]
 
* [[St. Clair River|Saint Clair River]]
−
* [[Lake Saint Clair, North America|Lake Saint Clair]]
+
* [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake Saint Clair]]
 
* [[Detroit River]]
 
* [[Detroit River]]
 
* [[Lake Erie]]
 
* [[Lake Erie]]
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* [[Lake Ontario]]
 
* [[Lake Ontario]]
 
* Saint Lawrence River
 
* Saint Lawrence River
 +
 +
 +
 +
==See also==
 +
*[[Boldt Castle]]
 +
*[[Grindstone Island]]
 +
*[[Jorstadt Castle]]
 +
*[[Wellesley Island]]
 +
*[[List of New York rivers]]
 +
*[[List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River]]
 +
*[[Sir Creek]]-A similar passage
 +
*[[Lac Saint-Pierre]]
 +
*[[Lachine Rapids]]
 +
*[[Empress of Ireland]]
 +
 +
==Notes==
 +
{{reflist}}
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
All links Retrieved December 21, 2007.
 
*[http://collections.ic.gc.ca/stlauren/ Regional Geography of the St. Lawrence River]
 
*[http://collections.ic.gc.ca/stlauren/ Regional Geography of the St. Lawrence River]
 
*[http://www.parks.on.ca/home.htm St. Lawrence Parks Commission (Ontario)]
 
*[http://www.parks.on.ca/home.htm St. Lawrence Parks Commission (Ontario)]
 
*[http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/ Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System]
 
*[http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/ Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System]
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*[http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/VQ_P1_5_EN.html Safe Passage: Aids to Navigation on the St. Lawrence] &mdash; Historical essay, illustrated with drawings and photographs
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*[http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/VQ_P1_5_EN.html Safe Passage: Aids to Navigation on the St. Lawrence] — Historical essay, illustrated with drawings and photographs
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*[http://www.readingstlawrencecounty.com Annotated Bibliography on St. Lawrence County and Northern New York region.]
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*[http://www.abaycams.com/earthcam/rivercam.asp St. Lawrence River Live Webcam]
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*[http://savetheriver.org/ "Save the River"]
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*[http://www.islrbc.org International Saint Lawrence River Board of Control]
  
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{{credit|34973073}}
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{{Canadian topics}}
  
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[[Category:Rivers]]
 
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:Geography]]
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[[Category:Bodies of water]]
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 +
{{credits|178740362}}

Revision as of 04:55, 21 December 2007


Saint Lawrence River
Map of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Watershed
Map of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Watershed
Origin Lake Ontario
Mouth Gulf of Saint Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries Canada (Ontario, Quebec)
United States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin)
Length 1,197 km (744 mi)
Source elevation 250 m (820 ft)
Avg. discharge 10,400 m³/s (367,328 cu ft/s)
Basin area 1,030,000 km² (397,683 sq mi)

The Saint Lawrence River (In French: fleuve Saint-Laurent) is a large south west-to-north east flowing river in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage of the Great Lakes Basin. It is called Kaniatarowanenneh ("big waterway") in Mohawk. It traverses the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and forms part of the international boundary between Ontario, Canada, and the U.S. state of New York.

Geography

The Saint Lawrence River originates at the outflow of Lake Ontario between Kingston, Ontario on the north bank, Wolfe Island in mid-stream, and Cape Vincent, New York on the south bank.

From there, it passes Gananoque, Brockville, Ogdensburg, Massena, Cornwall, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City before draining into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the largest estuary in the world. It runs 3,058 kilometers (1,900 mi) from the furthest headwater to the mouth (1,197 kilometers or 744 mi from the outflow of Lake Ontario). The furthest headwater is the North River in the Mesabi Range at Hibbing Minnesota. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of fresh water lakes, has a size of 1.03 million square kilometers (390,000 sq mi). The average discharge at the mouth is 10,400 cubic metres per second (367,000 cu ft/s).

The river includes Lake Saint-Louis south of Montreal, Lac Saint-François at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Lac Saint-Pierre east of Montreal. It surrounds such islands as the Thousand Islands near Kingston, the Island of Montreal, Île Jésus (Laval), Île d'Orléans near Québec City, and Anticosti Island north of the Gaspé.

Lake Champlain and the Ottawa, Richelieu, and Saguenay rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.

The Saint Lawrence River is in a seismically active zone where fault reactivation is believed to occur along late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic normal faults related to the opening of Iapetus Ocean. The faults in the area are rift related, which is called the Saint Lawrence rift system.

Saint Lawrence River between Quebec City (seen at left) and Lévis (seen at right). The Île d'Orléans appears further in the center.

History

The first known European explorer to navigate the St. Lawrence was Jacques Cartier, who sighted the Bay of Chaleur in 1534 and also claimed New France for Francis I. The land was inhabited at the time by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. He returned to the area the following year. Arriving at the Gulf on St. Lawrence' feast day, he accordingly named it the Gulf of St. Lawrence.[1] The river was also navigated by French explorer Samuel de Champlain.

Map of 1543 showing Cartier's discoveries.

Until the early 1600s, the French used the name Rivière du Canada to designate the Saint Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The Saint Lawrence River served as the main route for exploration of the North American interior.

The St. Lawrence was formerly continuously navigable only as far as Montreal because of the virtually impassible Lachine Rapids. The Lachine Canal was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids; the Saint Lawrence Seaway, an extensive system of canals and locks, now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior. The Seaway was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (representing the United States of America).

In the late 1970s, the river was the subject of a successful ecological campaign (called "Save the River"), originally responding to planned development by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The campaign was organized, among others, by Abbie Hoffman, then on the run under the pseudonym of Barry Freed.

Names

Saint Lawrence River along the New York-Ontario border

Occasionally, the French name fleuve Saint-Laurent is wrongly translated as Saint Lawrence Seaway since it uses the word fleuve and not rivière. However, the word fleuve means a large river, which runs to the ocean or sea. There is no word in English that distinguishes this type of a river from others, and thus is appropriately translated by river. The seaway is a system of artificial canals and is called in French la voie maritime du Saint-Laurent.

The source of the North River in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:


See also

  • Boldt Castle
  • Grindstone Island
  • Jorstadt Castle
  • Wellesley Island
  • List of New York rivers
  • List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River
  • Sir Creek-A similar passage
  • Lac Saint-Pierre
  • Lachine Rapids
  • Empress of Ireland

Notes

  1. ↑ William Henry Johnson, French Pathfinders in North America, Project Gutenberg. Retrieved December 21, 2007.

External links

All links Retrieved December 21, 2007.

Template:Canadian topics

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