Get Our Extension
Select Wikiz in another Language
DeutschEspañolSuomiFrançaisעבריתItalianoNederlands
Settings
A
A
Text Highlights
Notes/Citations
Edit on Wikipedia

Share This Article

About Wikiz About Us Cookies Policy Terms & Services Privacy Policy Contact Contact us Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA
Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA

St. Lawrence River

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
St. Lawrence River
Fleuve Saint-Laurent
Saint Lawrence River
Known by various names in other languages
Le fleuve Saint-Laurent.jpg
The St. Lawrence River in Montréal-Est, Quebec
Grlakes lawrence map.png
Map of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Watershed
EtymologySaint Lawrence of Rome
Various other etymologies
Location
CountryCanada, United States
ProvincesOntario, Quebec
StateNew York
TerritoriesAnishinaabewaki; Haudenosaunee Countries; Nitaskinan; Nionwentsïo; Nitassinan; Dawnland Countries
Physical characteristics
SourceLake Ontario
 • locationKingston, Ontario / Cape Vincent, New York
 • coordinates44°06′N 76°24′W / 44.100°N 76.400°W / 44.100; -76.400
 • elevation74.7 m (245 ft)
MouthGulf of St. Lawrence / Atlantic Ocean
 • location
Quebec, Canada
 • coordinates
49°30′N 64°30′W / 49.500°N 64.500°W / 49.500; -64.500Coordinates: 49°30′N 64°30′W / 49.500°N 64.500°W / 49.500; -64.500
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length500 km (310 mi) excluding the estuary. C. 1200 km if included.
Basin size1,344,200 km2 (519,000 sq mi)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationbelow the Saguenay River[2]
 • average16,800 m3/s (590,000 cu ft/s)[2]
Discharge 
 • locationQuebec City
 • average12,101 m3/s (427,300 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationMontréal
 • average10,000 m3/s (350,000 cu ft/s)
 • maximum17,000 m3/s (600,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationLake Ontario, Kingston
 • average7,410 m3/s (262,000 cu ft/s)

The St. Lawrence River (French: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, [flœv sɛ̃lɔʁɑ̃]) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a roughly northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting the North American Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean, and forming the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin. The river traverses the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as the U.S. state of New York, and demarcates part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States. It also provides the foundation for the commercial St. Lawrence Seaway.

Discover more about St. Lawrence River related topics

French language

French language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

North America

North America

North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as a part of North America geographically.

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the centre of the lake.

Gulf of St. Lawrence

Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about 226,000 square kilometres (87,000 sq mi) and containing about 34,500 cubic kilometres (8,300 cu mi) of water, at an average depth of 152 metres (500 ft).

Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes, which are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and are in general on or near the Canada–United States border. Hydrologically, lakes Michigan and Huron are a single body joined at the Straits of Mackinac. The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among the lakes.

Great Lakes Basin

Great Lakes Basin

The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large drainage basin that feeds into the lakes. It is generally considered to also include a small area around and beyond Wolfe Island, Ontario, at the east end of Lake Ontario, which does not directly drain into the Great Lakes, but into the Saint Lawrence River.

Provinces and territories of Canada

Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —united to form a federation, becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it the world's second-largest country by area.

Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Central Canada, it is Canada's most populous province, with 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area. Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital.

Quebec

Quebec

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the largest province by area and the second-largest by population. Much of the population of Quebec lives in urban areas along the St. Lawrence River, between its most populous city, Montreal, and the provincial capital, Quebec City. The province is the home of the Québécois nation. Located in Central Canada, the province shares land borders with Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast, and a coastal border with Nunavut; in the south it borders Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York in the United States.

New York (state)

New York (state)

New York, often called New York state, is a state in the Northeastern United States. With 20.2 million people enumerated at the 2020 United States census, its highest decennial count ever, it is the fourth-most populous state in the United States as of 2021. Approximately 44% of the state's population lives in New York City, including 25% in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; and 15% of the state's population is on the remainder of Long Island, the most populous island in the United States. With a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2), New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state by area. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to its south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to its east; it shares a maritime border with Rhode Island, east of Long Island; and an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to its north and Ontario to its northwest.

Canada–United States border

Canada–United States border

The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 km (5,525 mi) long. The land border has two sections: Canada's border with the contiguous United States to its south, and with the U.S. state of Alaska to its west. The bi-national International Boundary Commission deals with matters relating to marking and maintaining the boundary, and the International Joint Commission deals with issues concerning boundary waters. The agencies currently responsible for facilitating legal passage through the international boundary are the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Canada

Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. It is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. The country is sparsely inhabited, with most residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Names

Originally known by a variety of names by local First Nations, the St. Lawrence became known in French as le fleuve Saint-Laurent (also spelled St-Laurent) in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain.[3] Opting for the grande riviere de sainct Laurens and fleuve sainct Laurens in his writings and on his maps, de Champlain supplanted previous French names for the river including the Grand fleuve de Hochelaga and the Grande rivière de Canada, which was the more popular name of the river in the 16th century.[3] The name Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence) was originally applied to the eponymous bay by Jacques Cartier upon his arrival into the region on the 10th of August feast day for Saint Lawrence in 1535.[3]

Today, the river is still known by Indigenous nations by a number of distinct names. Innu-aimun, the language of Nitassinan, refers to it as Wepistukujaw Sipo/Wepìstùkwiyaht sīpu;[3][4] the Abenaki call it Moliantegok/Moliantekw ("Montréal River"),[3] Kchitegw/Ktsitekw/Gicitegw ("Great River"),[4] or Oss8genaizibo/Ws8genaisibo/Wsogenaisibo ("River of the Algonquins");[4] the Mohawk refer to it in Kanienʼkéha as Roiatatokenti, Raoteniateara,[3] Ken’tarókwen,[5] or Kaniatarowanénhne;[6] the Tuscarora call it Kahnawáˀkye or Kaniatarowanenneh ("Big Water Current");[7] the Algonquins (or Omàmiwininiwak) call it "the Walking Path" or Magtogoek[3][8] or Kitcikanii sipi, the "Large Water River";[4][9] the Huron-Wendats refer to it as Lada8anna or Laooendaooena;[4] and, the Atikamekw of Nitaskinan refer to it as Micta sipi ("Huge River").

Discover more about Names related topics

First Nations in Canada

First Nations in Canada

First Nations is a term used to identify Indigenous Canadian peoples who are neither Inuit nor Métis. Traditionally, First Nations in Canada were peoples who lived south of the tree line, and mainly south of the Arctic Circle. There are 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands across Canada. Roughly half are located in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas" after the Iroquoian names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona and at Hochelaga.

Calendar of saints

Calendar of saints

The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does not mean "a large meal, typically a celebratory one", but instead "an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint".

Indigenous peoples in Canada

Indigenous peoples in Canada

In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Although Indian is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors Indian and Eskimo have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative. Aboriginal peoples as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982, though in most Indigenous circles Aboriginal has also fallen into disfavour.

Innu-aimun

Innu-aimun

Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the community.

Abenaki

Abenaki

The Abenaki are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predominantly spoken in Maine, while the Western Abenaki language was spoken in Quebec, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Mohawk people

Mohawk people

The Mohawk people are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern New York State, primarily around Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. As one of the five original members of the Iroquois League, the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door – the traditional guardians of the Iroquois Confederation against invasions from the east.

Mohawk language

Mohawk language

Mohawk is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in current or former Haudenosaunee territories, predominately Canada, and to a lesser extent in the United States. The word "Mohawk" is an exonym. In the Mohawk language, the people say that they are from Kanien:ke and that they are Kanienʼkehá꞉ka "People of the Flint Stone Place" or "People of the Flint Nation".

Algonquin people

Algonquin people

The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Mississaugas, and Nipissing, with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe (Anishinaabeg). Algonquins call themselves Omàmiwinini or the more generalised name of Anicinàpe.

Huron-Wendat Nation

Huron-Wendat Nation

The Huron-Wendat Nation is an Iroquoian-speaking nation that was established in the 17th century. In the French language, used by most members of the First Nation, they are known as the Nation Huronne-Wendat. The French gave the nickname “Huron” to the Wendat, meaning “boar’s head” because of the hairstyle of Huron men. Wendat (Quendat) was their confederacy name, meaning “people of the island” or "dwellers on a peninsula."

Atikamekw

Atikamekw

The Atikamekw are the Indigenous inhabitants of the subnational country or territory they call Nitaskinan, in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec, Canada. Their current population is around 8,000. One of the main communities is Manawan, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) northeast of Montreal. They have a tradition of agriculture as well as fishing, hunting and gathering. They have close traditional ties with the Innu people, who were their historical allies against the Inuit.

Nitaskinan

Nitaskinan

Nitaskinan is the ancestral homeland of the Atikamekw people. It is located in the valley of the Saint-Maurice River in Quebec, Canada. It covers an area of 80,000 km2 On 8 September 2014, the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw declared unilaterally the sovereignty of the Atikamekw Nation on the Nistaskinan. The objective of this is mainly to obtain a right of review for the projects exploiting the natural resources and to highlight the Atikamekw's identity. "Nitaskinan" means "our (excl.) land" in the Atikamekw language, where "Kitaskinan" means "our (inclusive) land," similar to other Cree languages' use of aski. From a legal perspective, according to the Indian Act, the Atikamekw have self-administration on three Indian reserves, Manawan, Obedjiwan and Wemotaci, but the Nitaskinan territory covers an area much wider.

Geography

The Champlain Sea
The Champlain Sea

With the draining of the Champlain Sea, due to a rebounding continent from the Last Glacial Maximum, the St. Lawrence River was formed. The Champlain Sea lasted from about 13,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago and was continuously shrinking during that time, a process that continues today.[10][11] The head of the St. Lawrence River, near Lake Ontario, is home to the Thousand Islands.[12]

Today, the St. Lawrence River begins at the outflow of Lake Ontario and flows adjacent to Gananoque, Brockville, Morristown, Ogdensburg, Massena, Cornwall, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City before draining into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, one of the largest estuaries in the world.[13] The estuary begins at the eastern tip of Île d'Orléans, just downstream from Quebec City.[2] The river becomes tidal around Quebec City.[14]

The St. Lawrence River runs 3,058 kilometres (1,900 mi) from the farthest headwater to the mouth and 1,197 km (743.8 mi) from the outflow of Lake Ontario. These numbers include the estuary; without the estuary, the length from Lake Ontario is c. 500 km (c. 300 mi). The farthest headwater is the North River in the Mesabi Range at Hibbing, Minnesota. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes, the world's largest system of freshwater lakes, is 1,344,200 square kilometres (518,998.5 sq mi), of which 839,200 km2 (324,016.9 sq mi) is in Canada and 505,000 km2 (194,981.6 sq mi) is in the United States. The basin covers parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and nearly the entirety of the state of Michigan in the United States. The average discharge below the Saguenay River is 16,800 cubic metres per second (590,000 cu ft/s). At Quebec City, it is 12,101 m3/s (427,300 cu ft/s). The average discharge at the river's source, the outflow of Lake Ontario, is 7,410 m3/s (262,000 cu ft/s).[2]

The St. Lawrence River includes Lake Saint-Louis south of Montreal, Lake Saint Francis at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Lac Saint-Pierre east of Montreal. It encompasses four archipelagoes: the Thousand Islands chain near Alexandria Bay, New York and Kingston, Ontario; the Hochelaga Archipelago, including the Island of Montreal and Île Jésus (Laval); the Lake St. Pierre Archipelago (classified a biosphere world reserve by the UNESCO in 2000)[15] and the smaller Mingan Archipelago. Other islands include Île d'Orléans near Quebec City and Anticosti Island north of the Gaspé. It is the second longest river in Canada.

Lake Champlain and the Ottawa, Richelieu, Saint-Maurice, Saint-François, Chaudière and Saguenay rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.

The St. 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 the Iapetus Ocean. The faults in the area are rift-related and comprise the Saint Lawrence rift system.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the St. Lawrence Valley is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division, containing the Champlain and Northern physiographic section.[16] However, in Canada, where most of the valley is, it is instead considered part of a distinct St. Lawrence Lowlands physiographic division, and not part of the Appalachian division at all.[17]

Discover more about Geography related topics

Champlain Sea

Champlain Sea

The Champlain Sea was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in what are now the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as parts of the American states of New York and Vermont.

Last Glacial Maximum

Last Glacial Maximum

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent 26 ka - 20 ka, during an interval of low obliquity. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Europe, and Asia and profoundly affected Earth's climate by causing a major expansion of deserts, along with a large drop in sea levels. Based on changes in position of ice sheet margins dated via terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides and radiocarbon dating, growth of ice sheets commenced 33,000 years ago and maximum coverage was between 26,500 years and 19–20,000 years ago, when deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere, causing an abrupt rise in sea level. Decline of the West Antarctica ice sheet occurred between 14,000 and 15,000 years ago, consistent with evidence for another abrupt rise in the sea level about 14,500 years ago. Glacier fluctuations around the Strait of Magellan suggest the peak in glacial surface area was constrained to between 25,200 and 23,100 years ago. Continental ice sheets never reached their isostatic equilibrium during the LGM, as evidenced by high variability in ice volume over short spans of time.

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the centre of the lake.

Brockville

Brockville

Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.

Massena (village), New York

Massena (village), New York

Massena is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The village is named after André Masséna, one of Napoleon's generals.

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city.

Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is the second most populous city in Canada and the most populous city in the province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie is built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital Ottawa, and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City.

Gulf of St. Lawrence

Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about 226,000 square kilometres (87,000 sq mi) and containing about 34,500 cubic kilometres (8,300 cu mi) of water, at an average depth of 152 metres (500 ft).

Estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.

Kilometre

Kilometre

The kilometre, spelt kilometer in American English and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres. It is now the measurement unit used for expressing distances between geographical places on land in most of the world; notable exceptions are the United States and the United Kingdom where the statute mile is the main unit used.

Mile

Mile

The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English feet, or 1,760 yards. The statute mile was standardised between the British Commonwealth and the United States by an international agreement in 1959, when it was formally redefined with respect to SI units as exactly 1,609.344 metres.

Mesabi Range

Mesabi Range

The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. First described in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It has been extensively worked since 1892, and has seen a transition from high-grade direct shipping ores through gravity concentrates to the current industry exclusively producing iron ore (taconite) pellets. Production has been dominantly controlled by vertically integrated steelmakers since 1901, and therefore is dictated largely by US ironmaking capacity and demand.

History

Map of 1543 showing Cartier's discoveries
Map of 1543 showing Cartier's discoveries
Basque settlements and sites dating from the 16th and 17th centuries
Basque settlements and sites dating from the 16th and 17th centuries

Flowing through and adjacent to numerous Indigenous homelands, the large river was always and remains to this day a primary thoroughfare for many peoples. Beginning in Dawnland at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the river borders Mi'kma'ki[18] in the South (what is today known as the Canadian Maritimes), and Nitassinan in the North, the national territory of the Innu people.[19] On the south shore beyond the Mi'kmaw district of Gespe'gewa'ki,[18] the river passes Wolastokuk (the Maliseet homeland), Pαnawαhpskewahki (the Penobscot homeland), and Ndakinna (the Abenaki homeland).[20] Continuing, the river passes through the former country of the St. Lawrence Iroquois and then three of the six homelands of the Haudenosaunee: the Mohawk or Kanienʼkehá꞉ka, the Oneida or Onyota'a:ka, and the Onondaga or Onöñda’gaga’.[20]

In the early 17th century, the Huron-Wendat Nation migrated from their original country of Huronia to what is now known as Nionwentsïo centred around Wendake.[21][22] Nionwentsïo occupies both the north and south shores of the river,[21] overlapping with Nitassinan and the more western Wabanaki or Dawnland countries.[20] Adjacent on the north shore is the Atikamekw territorial homeland of Nitaskinan[23][24] and, upstream, the further reaches of Anishinaabewaki, specifically the homelands of the Algonquin and Mississauga Nations.[20]

The Norse explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 11th century and were followed by fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century European mariners, such as John Cabot, and the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real. The first European explorer known to have sailed up the St. Lawrence River itself was Jacques Cartier. At that time, the land along the river described as "about two leagues, a mountain as tall as a heap of wheat" was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians; at the time of Cartier's second voyage in 1535. Because Cartier arrived in the estuary on Saint Lawrence's feast day 10 August, he named it the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.[25][26] The St. Lawrence River is partly within the U.S. and as such is that country's sixth oldest surviving European place-name.[27]

The earliest regular Europeans in the area were the Basques, who came to the St Lawrence Gulf and River in pursuit of whales from the early 16th century. The Basque whalers and fishermen traded with indigenous Americans and set up settlements, leaving vestiges all over the coast of eastern Canada and deep into the St. Lawrence River. Basque commercial and fishing activity reached its peak before the Armada Invencible's disaster (1588), when the Spanish Basque whaling fleet was confiscated by King Philip II of Spain and largely destroyed. Initially, the whaling galleons from Labourd were not affected by the Spanish defeat.

Until the early 17th century, the French used the name Rivière du Canada to designate the St. Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The St. Lawrence River served as the main route for European exploration of the North American interior, first pioneered by French explorer Samuel de Champlain.

Control of the river was crucial to British strategy to capture New France in the Seven Years' War. Having captured Louisbourg in 1758, the British sailed up to Quebec the following year thanks to charts drawn up by James Cook. British troops were ferried via the St. Lawrence to attack the city from the west, which they successfully did at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The river was used again by the British to defeat the French siege of Quebec under the Chevalier de Lévis in 1760.

In 1809, the first steamboat to ply its trade on the St. Lawrence was built and operated by John Molson and associates, a scant two years after Fulton's steam-powered navigation of the Hudson River. The Accommodation with ten passengers made her maiden voyage from Montreal to Quebec City in 66 hours, for 30 of which she was at anchor. She had a keel of 75 feet, and a length overall of 85 feet. The cost of a ticket was eight dollars upstream, and nine dollars down. She had berths that year for twenty passengers.[28]

Within a decade, daily service was available in the hotly-contested Montreal-Quebec route.[29]

Because of the virtually impassable Lachine Rapids, the St. Lawrence was once continuously navigable only as far as Montreal. Opened in 1825, the Lachine Canal was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids. An extensive system of canals and locks, known as the St. Lawrence Seaway, was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (representing the United States). The Seaway (including the Welland Canal) now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior.

A watercolour painting by Elizabeth Simcoe created [ca. 1792] depicting a bend in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec from the Simcoe Family fonds held at the Archives of Ontario.
A watercolour painting by Elizabeth Simcoe created [ca. 1792] depicting a bend in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec from the Simcoe Family fonds held at the Archives of Ontario.

During the Second World War, the Battle of the St. Lawrence involved submarine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait from May to October 1942, September 1943, and again in October and November 1944. During this time, German U-boats sank several merchant marine ships and three Canadian warships.

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.[30]

Discover more about History related topics

Mi'kma'ki

Mi'kma'ki

Mi'kma'ki or Mi'gma'gi is composed of the traditional and current territories, or country, of the Mi'kmaq people, in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. It is shared by an inter-Nation forum among Mi'kmaq First Nations and is divided into seven geographical and traditional districts. Today Taqamkuk is separately represented as an eighth district. Mi'kma'ki is one of the confederate nations within the Wabanaki.

Nitassinan

Nitassinan

Nitassinan is the ancestral homeland of the Innu, an indigenous people of Eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. Nitassinan means "our land" in the Innu language. The territory covers the eastern portion of the Labrador peninsula.

Gaspé Peninsula

Gaspé Peninsula

The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick on its southern side by Chaleur Bay and the Restigouche River. The name Gaspé comes from the Miꞌkmaq word gespe'g, meaning "end", referring to the end of the land.

Maliseet

Maliseet

The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet, are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the indigenous people of the Wolastoq valley and its tributaries. Their territory extends across the current borders of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and parts of Maine in the United States.

Penobscot

Penobscot

The Penobscot are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec.

Abenaki

Abenaki

The Abenaki are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predominantly spoken in Maine, while the Western Abenaki language was spoken in Quebec, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

St. Lawrence Iroquoians

St. Lawrence Iroquoians

The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were an Iroquoian Indigenous people who existed from the 14th century to about 1580. They concentrated along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and in the American states of New York and northernmost Vermont. They spoke Laurentian languages, a branch of the Iroquoian family.

Mohawk people

Mohawk people

The Mohawk people are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern New York State, primarily around Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. As one of the five original members of the Iroquois League, the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door – the traditional guardians of the Iroquois Confederation against invasions from the east.

Oneida people

Oneida people

The Oneida people are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York, particularly near the Great Lakes.

Onondaga people

Onondaga people

The Onondaga people are one of the original five original nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy in the Northeastern Woodlands. Their historical homelands are in and around present-day Onondaga County, New York, south of Lake Ontario.

Huron-Wendat Nation

Huron-Wendat Nation

The Huron-Wendat Nation is an Iroquoian-speaking nation that was established in the 17th century. In the French language, used by most members of the First Nation, they are known as the Nation Huronne-Wendat. The French gave the nickname “Huron” to the Wendat, meaning “boar’s head” because of the hairstyle of Huron men. Wendat (Quendat) was their confederacy name, meaning “people of the island” or "dwellers on a peninsula."

Huronia (region)

Huronia (region)

Huronia is a historical region in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is positioned between lakes Erie, Ontario, and Huron. Similarly to the latter, it takes its name from the Wendat or Huron, an Iroquoian-speaking people, who lived there from prehistoric times until 1649 during the Beaver Wars when they were defeated and displaced by the Five Nations of the Iroquois who lived in New York.

Resident whales

See also: Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park
Watching fin whales off Tadoussac
Watching fin whales off Tadoussac

Discover more about Resident whales related topics

Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park

Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park

The Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area, one of three in the Canadian national park system, located where the Saguenay River meets the Saint Lawrence River. This park is jointly managed by Parks Canada and Sépaq. It is the first park in all of Canada to protect a purely marine environment, and covers a surface area of 1,245 km2. The area that is now the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a part of the Innue Essipit First Nation's land claim, and a treaty resulting from this claim could impact activities that are practiced within the park. The region surrounding the park is an important part of the history of Canada, being one of the first points of contact between Indigenous Peoples and European explorers and the birthplace of the intercontinental fur trade.

Whale watching

Whale watching

Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity, but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes. A study prepared for International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2009 estimated that 13 million people went whale watching globally in 2008. Whale watching generates $2.1 billion per annum in tourism revenue worldwide, employing around 13,000 workers. The size and rapid growth of the industry has led to complex and continuing debates with the whaling industry about the best use of whales as a natural resource.

Tadoussac

Tadoussac

Tadoussac is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. The indigenous Innu call the place Totouskak meaning "bosom", probably in reference to the two round and sandy hills located on the west side of the village. According to other interpretations, it could also mean "place of lobsters", or "place where the ice is broken". Although located in Innu territory, the post was also frequented by the Mi'kmaq people in the second half of the 16th century, who called it Gtatosag. Alternate spellings of Tadoussac over the centuries included Tadousac, Tadoussak, and Thadoyzeau (1550). Tadoussac was first visited by Europeans in 1535 and was established in 1599 when the first trading post in Canada was formed there, in addition to a permanent settlement being placed in the same area that the Grand Hotel is located today.

Beluga whale

Beluga whale

The beluga whale is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the white whale, as it is the only cetacean to regularly occur with this colour; the sea canary, due to its high-pitched calls; and the melonhead, though that more commonly refers to the melon-headed whale, which is an oceanic dolphin.

Sperm whale

Sperm whale

The sperm whale or cachalot is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual and is the only species in the genus Megaptera. Adults range in length from 14–17 m (46–56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons. The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song typically lasting 4 to 33 minutes.

Minke whale

Minke whale

The minke whale, or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common minke whale and the Antarctic minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish naturalist Otto Fabricius in 1780, who assumed it must be an already known species and assigned his specimen to Balaena rostrata, a name given to the northern bottlenose whale by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1776. In 1804, Bernard Germain de Lacépède described a juvenile specimen of Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata. The name is a partial translation of Norwegian minkehval, possibly after a Norwegian whaler named Meincke, who mistook a northern minke whale for a blue whale.

Fin whale

Fin whale

The fin whale, also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to 27.3 m (89.6 ft) long with a maximum confirmed length of 25.9 m (85 ft), a maximum recorded weight of nearly 74 tonnes, and a maximum estimated weight of around 114 tonnes. American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea ... for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship."

Blue whale

Blue whale

The blue whale is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 tonnes, it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean, B. m. brevicauda in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is also a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.

Northern bottlenose whale

Northern bottlenose whale

The northern bottlenose whale is a species of beaked whale in the ziphiid family, being one of two members of the genus Hyperoodon. The northern bottlenose whale was hunted heavily by Norway and Britain in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of the deepest-diving mammals known, reaching depths of 2,339 m (7,674 ft) and capable of diving for up to 130 minutes.

Bowhead whale

Bowhead whale

The bowhead whale is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus Balaena. It is the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, and is named after its characteristic massive triangular skull, which it uses to break through Arctic ice. Other common names of the species included the Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, steeple-top, and polar whale.

Gray whale

Gray whale

The gray whale, also known as the grey whale, gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of up to 41 tonnes (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75–80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius. It is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae, however some recent studies classify it as a member of the family Balaenopteridae. This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared during the Neogene.

Source: "St. Lawrence River", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 27th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawrence_River.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

Download Extension

Further Reading

St. Lawrence Seaway

Samuel de Champlain

Gulf of St. Lawrence

Chaleur Bay

Island of Montreal

Lake Saint Pierre

Geography of Quebec

List of bridges to the Island of Montreal

16th century in Canada

Champlain Valley

Montérégie

Honoré Mercier Bridge

Île aux Basques

Estuary of St. Lawrence
Sources

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

The St. Lawrence River also passes through Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Pierre in Quebec.

Looking North East where the St. Lawrence River narrows, between Quebec City (left foreground) and Lévis (seen at right). The Île d'Orléans appears in the central distance.
Works

The St. Lawrence River is at the heart of many Quebec novels (Anne Hébert's Kamouraska, Réjean Ducharme's L'avalée des avalés), poems (in works of Pierre Morency, Bernard Pozier), and songs (Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", Michel Rivard's "L'oubli", Joe Dassin's "Dans les yeux d'Émilie", and André Gagnon's "Le Saint-Laurent"). The river was the setting for the Canadian television drama series Seaway. The river has also been portrayed in paintings, notably by the Group of Seven. In addition, the river is the namesake of Saint-Laurent Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

In 1980 Jacques Cousteau traveled to Canada to make two films on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, Cries from the Deep and St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea.[39]

Musician David Usher released the song "St. Lawrence River" on his Little Songs album in 1998.[40]

The novel and film Black Robe are set primarily on the St. Lawrence River during the 17th century.

See also
References
  1. ^ "Rivers". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Benke, Arthur C.; Cushing, Colbert E. (2005). Rivers of North America. Academic Press. pp. 989–990. ISBN 978-0-12-088253-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Fleuve Saint-Laurent". Commission de toponymie Québec. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lozier, Jean-François (2018). Flesh Reborn: The Saint Lawrence Valley Mission Settlements through the Seventeenth Century. Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press. p. 306. ISBN 9780773553989. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  5. ^ Doolittle, Benjamin (25 August 2016). "St. Lawrence (Upper river)". Kanienʼkéha Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  6. ^ Doolittle, Benjamin (25 August 2016). "St. Lawrence, USA & CA". Kanienʼkéha Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  7. ^ Rudes, B. Tuscarora English Dictionary Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999
  8. ^ Toussaint, Jean-Patrick. "Il était une fois un fleuve... et nous". Agence Science-Presse (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  9. ^ Cuoq, Jean André (1886). Lexique de la langue algonquine (in French). Montréal: J. Chapleau. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  10. ^ Lake Champlain Basin Atlas: Geology Page Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Miller, William J. (2015). Geology: The Science of the Earth's Crust (Illustrations). P. F. Collier & Son Company. p. 37. GGKEY:Y3TD08H3RAT.
  12. ^ "St. Lawrence River Ecosystem". Save The River! Thousand Islands - Clayton NY on the St. Lawrence River. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Estuary - National Geographic Society". nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  14. ^ Dawson, Samuel Edward (October 2007). The Saint Lawrence: Its Basin and Border-lands. Heritage Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7884-2252-2. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  15. ^ Lac Saint-Pierre et son archipel. Pleinairalacarte.com (2008-11-07). Retrieved 2013-07-12.
  16. ^ "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U.S." U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
  17. ^ "Physiographic Regions of Canada" (PDF). Natural Resources Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Gespe'gewa'gi : Our District Territory". Mi’gmawei Mawiomi Secretariat. Mi’gmawei Mawio’mi. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  19. ^ Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their Homeland, Douglas & McIntyre, December 1991, 240pp, by Marie Wadden, ISBN 978-1-55365-731-6, (book link) Archived 2013-01-21 at archive.today
  20. ^ a b c d "Territories". native-land.ca. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Carte du Nionwentsïo". Nation Huron-Wendat. Nation Huronne-Wendat. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  22. ^ Jaenen, Cornelius J. "Murray Treaty of Longueuil (1760)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Les Attikameks s'attaquent à l'indifférence de Québec". Le Devoir (in French). 9 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  24. ^ "Les Atikamekw déclarent leur souveraineté". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). 8 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  25. ^ Johnson, William Henry (20 May 2007). French Pathfinders in North America. Retrieved 27 February 2011 – via Project Gutenberg.
  26. ^ Bideaux, Michel (1986). Jacques Cartier: Relations (in French). Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal. pp. 130–131. Retrieved 20 November 2021 – via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ The Spanish names Florida, Dry Tortugas, Cape Canaveral, Appalachian, and California appeared earlier.....From Spanish historian Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas's accounts, published in 1601 -- Stewart, George (1945). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. New York: Random House. pp. 11–17, 29.
  28. ^ Denison 1955, p. 65
  29. ^ Denison 1955, p. 91
  30. ^ "Save the River!". 1 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Une baleine noire en vue! Merci d'appeler Urgences Mammifères Marins! - Baleines en direct". 12 July 2013.
  32. ^ "Introduction". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  33. ^ "Hear them coming: right whales return to the Gulf of St. Lawrence". Fisheries and Oceans Canada Homepage. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  34. ^ "Une baleine noire dans le Parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent".
  35. ^ "Une baleine noire observée près de l'île Rouge - Baleines en direct". 10 July 2015.
  36. ^ "Regional Species Extinctions - Examples of regional species extinctions over the last 1000 years and more" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2011.
  37. ^ "Saint Lawrence River and Seaway". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  38. ^ "Saint Lawrence". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  39. ^ Ohayon, Albert (2009). "When Cousteau Came to Canada". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  40. ^ "Little Songs: David Usher: Amazon.ca: Music". www.amazon.ca.
Bibliography
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Lawrence River.
Categories

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.