Mattagami River

The Mattagami River is a river in Northern Ontario, Canada.

Mattagami River Rivière Mattagami (in French)
Mattagami River at Smooth Rock Falls
Location of the mouth of the Mattagami River in Ontario
Etymology	Ojibwe language
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Northeastern Ontario
Districts	Cochrane Timiskaming Sudbury
Physical characteristics
Source	Mattagami Lake
• location	Gouin Township, Sudbury District
• coordinates	48°00′46″N 81°33′28″W
• elevation	330 m (1,080 ft)
Mouth	Moose River
• location	Gardiner Township, Cochrane District
• coordinates	50°43′42″N 81°29′14″W
• elevation	48 m (157 ft)
Length	443 km (275 mi)
Basin size	37,000 km^2 (14,000 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	James Bay drainage basin

The Mattagami flows 443 kilometres (275 mi) from its source at Mattagami Lake in geographic Gouin Township[1] in the Unorganized North Part of Sudbury District, on the Canadian Shield southwest of Timmins,[2] to Portage Island in geographic Gardiner Township[3] in the Unorganized North Part of Cochrane District, in the Hudson Bay Lowlands.[4] Here the Mattagami's confluence with the Missinaibi River forms the Moose River, about 100 kilometres (60 mi) from that river's tidewater outlet at James Bay.[5] The Mattagami River flows through the city of Timmins as well as the town of Smooth Rock Falls[5] and its drainage basin encompasses 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi).[2]

The Mattagami's name comes from the Ojibwe and means either "the start of water" (maadaagami) or "turbulent water" (madaagami), but the local Ojibwe population claim "Mattagami" is a corrupted form of "confluence" (maadawaagami). According to the Mattagami First Nation, Mattagami means "Meeting of the Waters".

Course

Mattagami River near Timmins, early 1990s

The river starts at Mattagami Lake and ends at its confluence with Missinaibi River, serving as a source for Moose River.[6]

Economy

Where the Groundhog and Kapuskasing Rivers flow into the Mattagami, Ontario Power Generation operates the Little Long Generating Station,[7] with a dam just over 5 km in length.

Tributaries

Tributaries include the:

• Kapuskasing River
  • Nemegosenda River
    • Chapleau River
• Groundhog River
  • Ivanhoe River
  • Nat River
• Poplar Rapids River
• Kamiskotia River
• Grassy River
• Tatachikapika River
• Mattagami Lake
  • Minisinakwa River
    • Nabakwasi River
      • Opikinimika River
    • Noble River

See also

• List of rivers of Ontario

References

1. "Gouin" (PDF). Geology Ontario - Historic Claim Maps. Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
2. "Rivers Flowing into Hudson Bay, James Bay or Ungava Bay - Moose River". Rivers. Atlas of Canada. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2011-09-20. Length to head of Lake Minissinakwa.
3. "Gardiner" (PDF). Geology Ontario - Historic Claim Maps. Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
4. "Ecozones". Far North Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
5. Map 15 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 1,600,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
6. "Mattagami River". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2011-09-20. Shows the course of the river highlighted on a map.
7. "Little Long Generating Station". Hydro - Northeast Plant Group. Ontario Power Generation.

External links

• Mattagami Region Conservation Authority