Ganaraska River : Course, Watershed, Natural history, Flood of 1980 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ganaraska River

River in Ontario, Canada

44°03′15″N 78°36′22″W / 44.05417°N 78.60611°W / 44.05417; -78.60611 • elevation344 m (1,129 ft) MouthLake Ontario

• location

Port Hope, Northumberland County

• coordinates

43°56′30″N 78°17′26″W / 43.94167°N 78.29056°W / 43.94167; -78.29056

• elevation

74 m (243 ft)Basin size278 km² (107 sq mi)Basin featuresRiver systemGreat Lakes BasinTributaries • leftNorth Ganaraska River

The Ganaraska River is a river in Northumberland County and the Regional Municipality of Durham in Southern Ontario, Canada.^[1] It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Ontario, which it reaches at the central community of the municipality of Port Hope. The river's name is thought to be derived from Ganaraske, the Cayuga name for the village this Iroquoian nation had established in this area in 1779.

Together with other nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, they had migrated from New York, forced to cede their homelands because of having allied with the British in the American Revolutionary War. The Crown provided additional lands to the Iroquois peoples, including what is now called the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve.

Later the Crown granted land here to United Empire Loyalists, in compensation for their losses in the Northeast colonies, especially New York. They were the first European Americans to settle here in any number.

Course

The river begins on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Ganaraska Forest^[2] in the municipality of Clarington, about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) southeast of the junction of Ontario Highway 35 and Ontario Highway 115. It flows southeast past the community of Kendal, takes in the left tributary North Ganaraska River, and turns south to its mouth on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

Watershed

Portions of the Ganaraska River drainage basin of 278 square kilometres (107 sq mi) extend into the City of Kawartha Lakes; the Township of Cavan–Monaghan, Peterborough County; and the Township of Hamilton, Northumberland County.^[3]

Natural history

There have been major conservation efforts in recent years.

It attracts anglers for salmon and trout. The Ganaraska River Fishway, a fish ladder, allows rainbow trout to travel up river to spawn.

Flood of 1980

The river had a flood in 1980, that caused considerable damage to the Port Hope downtown area.^[4]

References

^ "Ganaraska River". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
^ "The Ganaraska Forest" (PDF). Ganaraska Conservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
^ "Ganaraska River Watershed Plan 2010" (PDF). Ganaraska Conservation. 2010-04-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
^ Walsh, Erin. "Ganny floods featured in Archives collection". No. 22 March 2011. Northumberland Today. Port Hope Archives. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

Sources

Map 3 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
Map 6 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #5 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2014-05-08.