Chaudière Falls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chaudière Falls are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The falls are about 60 m (200 ft) wide and drop 15 m (50 ft).
The name of the falls come from the French Chutes de la Chaudière, meaning "Cauldron Falls" but has been historically translated as "Kettle Falls". The shape of the falls before its development resembled a large cauldron.
The damming of the river and the presence of industry have greatly altered the waterfall's appearance, especially in the summer when the Ottawa River is low. Then the falls all but disappear because the water is diverted to power stations. The development also greatly limits the locations from which to view the falls.
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[edit] History
[edit] Exploration and the fur trade
Samuel de Champlain is the first recorded European to label the falls, chaudière, during his 1613 voyage along the Ottawa River. Champlain describes in his journal,
- At one place the water falls with such violence upon a rock, that, in the course of time, there has been hollowed out in it a wide and deep basin, so that the water flows round and round there and makes, in the middle, great whirlpools. Hence, the savages call it Asticou, which means kettle. This waterfall makes such a noise that it can be heard for more than two leagues off.[1]
In the days of the fur trade, the Chaudière Falls were an obstacle along the Ottawa River trade route. Canoes were portaged around the falls at the present day site of downtown Hull, Quebec.
[edit] Permanent settlement
The arrival of Philemon Wright to this area in 1800 marked the start of the development of the city of Hull. In 1827, the region's first bridge (Chaudière Bridge) was built close to the falls. When the logging industry began in this area and farther upstream, the falls were also an obstacle for log driving. In 1829, Ruggles Wright (son of Philemon Wright) built the first timber slide, allowing logs and timber rafts to bypass the falls along the north shore.
Since then, all the islands and shores at the Chaudière Falls have been developed and the river's flow and drop have long been harnessed to operate paper mills and power stations. The E. B. Eddy Company used to operate the paper mills (operation stopped in 2007) and both Hydro Ottawa and Hydro-Québec operate run-of-the-river hydro-electric generating stations at the falls.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Woods, 6.
[edit] References
- Woods, Shirley E. Jr. Ottawa: The Capital of Canada, Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1980. ISBN 0385147228
[edit] External links
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-ChaudierFa.html
- Hydro Ottawa power stations on the Ottawa River
- Hydro-Québec Hull power station
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Coordinates: 45°25′14″N 75°43′20″W / 45.42056°N 75.72222°W
