The Moon River is a river in the municipalities of Georgian Bay and Muskoka Lakes, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. It flows from Lake Muskoka at the community of Bala to Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, south of Parry Sound. The name of the river is thought to be derived from its Ojibwa name , which means "moose river".
Course
thumb|left|250px|Bala Falls at the head of the Moon River
The river begins at the Bala Falls in the community of Bala, where those falls drain Lake Muskoka. The river heads northwest, passes through Moon Chute, at which point the Musquash River diverges to the south. The river continues northwest and passes into Wahta Mohawk Territory, flows over the Island Portage Falls, takes in the right tributary Haggart Creek, and passes into the municipality of Georgian Bay. The Moon River continues northwest, flows over Jack Knife Rapids then under Ontario Highway 400, and passes through Moon River Conservation Reserve. It enters the Lower Moon River Conservation Reserve (which continues to the river mouth), passes over the Twin Rapids, flows past the community of Moon River, and reaches its mouth at Arnolds Bay on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron.
The section of the Moon River from Bala to Moon Chute and the Musquash River were officially considered to be a continuation of the Muskoka River until 1968.
Floods
In Spring of 2013 Muskoka Lakes region experienced a flood that at the time was touted as “the worst flooding in 100 years”. The flood of 2019 measurably exceeded the levels of the 2013 flooding.
Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport Canada, issued an interim order on April 30, 2019 prohibiting all non-emergency vessels from Moon River due to flooding. On that day Moon River was discharging at the rate of up to 361 m³/s, a flow sufficient to fill up an Olympic size swimming pool in under seven seconds. Regular regulated summer time discharge rate of Moon River is approximately 5 m³/s.
See also
- List of rivers of Ontario