Falls of the Rideau River, at the Ottawa River, 1826

The Rideau River (french: Rivière Rideau) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the

Rideau Falls The Rideau Falls (french: Chutes de la rivière Rideau) are two 11-metre waterfalls located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where the Rideau River empties into the Ottawa River. The falls are divided by Green Island, with Ottawa's Old City Hall ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champlain in 1613, the river was given the name "Rideau" (curtain) because of the appearance of the Rideau Falls. The Anishinàbemowin name for the river is "Pasapkedjinawong", meaning "the river that passes between the rocks." The

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

, which allows travel from Ottawa to the city of

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

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 sp ...

, was formed by joining the Rideau River with the

Cataraqui River The Cataraqui River ( ) forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal and drains into Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario. The name is taken from the original name for Kingston, Ontario; its exact meaning, however, is undetermined. Early maps showed s ...

. The river diverges from the Canal at Hog's Back Falls in Ottawa. In early spring, to reduce flooding on the lower section of the river, workers from the city of Ottawa use ice blasting to clear the ice which covers the river from

Billings Bridge Billings Bridge is a bridge over the Rideau River in Ottawa. Bank Street passes over the river by way of this bridge. The bridge was named after Braddish Billings, who settled in this area and established a farm nearby in 1812. The first bridge, ...

to Rideau Falls by cutting "keys" through the ice and using explosives to break off large sheets of ice. This practice has been going on for more than 100 years. The regulatory authority charged with protecting the Rideau River and its tributaries is the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

History

Samuel de Champlain, who was the first European to have seen the river, named it ''rideau'' (the French word for "curtain") due to the resemblance between Rideau Falls and a curtain. In earlier times, the river was used as a transportation route between the

and

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) 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 fertility of the lands along the banks of Rideau river attracted loyalist settlers looking for good farmlands, which led to growth of settlements in the surrounding regions. After the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, a

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

, designed by

John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...

, was built through Rideau River connecting Kingston to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Tributaries

* Adrians Creek * Duck Creek *

Tay River The Tay River is a river in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Rideau River. The Tay River watershed, ...

* Black Creek * Otter Creek *

Rosedale Creek Rosedale may refer to: Places Australia * Rosedale, New South Wales, a settlement * Rosedale, Queensland, a town * Rosedale, South Australia, a town *Rosedale, Victoria, a town *Shire of Rosedale, Victoria, a former local government area Canada * ...

* Irish Creek * Babers Creek * Atkinsons Creek * Rideau Creek * Dales Creek * Brassils Creek * Murphy Drain *

Kemptville Creek Kemptville Creek is a stream in the municipalities of North Grenville and Augusta, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Ottawa River drainage basin, is a right tributary of the Rideau River, and ...

* McDermott Drain * Cranberry Creek * Steven Creek * Mud Creek *

Jock River The Jock River, known locally as the Mighty Jock, is a river in Ottawa and Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river highlighted on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (fren ...

* Black Rapids Creek * Nepean Creek * Brewer Park Pond (connected via a culvert) * Sawmill Creek

Communities

Communities along the Rideau include: *

, Ontario *

Manotick, Ontario Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-Jock Ward in the rural south part of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a suburb of the city, located on the Rideau River, immediately south of the suburbs Barrhaven and Riverside South, about from ...

* Kars, Ontario *

North Grenville, Ontario North Grenville is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville on the Rideau River. It is located just south of Ottawa in Canada's National Capital Region. It was established on January 1, 1998, through t ...

* Merrickville, Ontario *

Smiths Falls, Ontario Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes thr ...

Islands

* Barnes Island * Beech Island * Cummings Island * Green Island * James Island * Kilmarnock Island * Libby Island *

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

* Maple Island * Nicolls Island * Porter Island * Sanders Island

References

External links

*
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
*
Biodiversity of the Rideau River (CMN, nature.ca)
{{Canadian Heritage Rivers System Rivers of Ottawa Canadian Heritage Rivers