The Madawaska River is the largest tributary of the Ottawa River in the St. Lawrence River drainage basin in Ontario, Canada. The river is long and drains an area of . Its name comes from an Algonquian band of the region known as "Matouweskarini", meaning "people of the shallows".

Geography

The Madawaska River rises at Source Lake in geographic Canisbay Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District, in the highlands of southern Algonquin Park.

Fauna

The most common species of game fish found in this river include walleye (yellow pickerel), northern pike, muskellunge, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass.

Hydroelectric Power

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has 5 stations on the Madawaska.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ OPG Madawaska Stations

! Station!! Year!! Capacity !! Units

|-

| Mountain Chute || 1967 || 170 MW || 2

|-

| Barrett Chute || 1942 || 176 MW ||4

|-

| Calabogie || 1917 || 5 MW || 2

|-

|Stewartville || 1948 || 182 MW || 5

|-

| Arnprior || 1976 || 82 MW || 2

|}

In June 2002 sluice gates at the Barrett Chute Generating Station were accidentally opened, killing two people, and injuring seven. OPG and two employees were charged with criminal negligence. Procedures at the plant were reviewed, and fencing added or repaired.

The Calabogie station is being upgraded in 2022 to double capacity from 5 MW to 10 MW. The original station was badly damaged by a tornado in September 2018. Clean up was completed in 2020. The project is expected to cost 100 million dollars.

Provincial parks

Two sections of the river are designated and protected as provincial waterway parks:

  • Upper Madawaska River Provincial Park, between Whitney and Madawaska; .
  • Lower Madawaska River Provincial Park, between Latchford Bridge and Griffith; .

Both parks are administered by Ontario Parks but are non-operating, meaning there are no visitor facilities or services available. Both are ideal for whitewater canoeing.

See also

  • Bonnechere River - nearby river with similar characteristics
  • List of Ontario rivers

References

Sources

  • Ontario Power Generation - History and water management