The Chapleau River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Algoma District Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe ...

and

Sudbury District The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District. In 1973, the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was creat ...

in northeastern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 List of coun ...

. It is in the

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, begins at Chapleau Lake and is the main tributary of

Kapuskasing Lake Kapuskasing Lake is a lake in Algoma District and Sudbury District in Northeastern Ontario, northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the James Bay drainage basin and is the source of the Kapuskasing River. The majority of the lake is in Township (C ...

Etymology

The community of Chapleau was created as a divisional point during the construction of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

Transcontinental railway A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the tracks of a single railroad ...

and was named for

Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (; November 9, 1840 – June 13, 1898), born in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, was a French-Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 7th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1892 to 1898. Life As a lawyer, he defe ...

. Both the lake upon which the community is located and the river which flows from the lake took on the same name.

Course

The river begins at the north end of Chapleau Lake in Subury District, and flows north through Henderson Lake before taking in the left tributary Racine Creek. it continues north to Schewabik Lake where it takes in the left tributary

Swanson River The Swanson River (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Yaghetnu'') is a stream, long, on the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska in the United States. Beginning at Gene Lake in the Swanson Lakes district, it flows southwest then north to Number ...

. It continues northeast, then north, takes in the left tributary Makonie River, enters Algoma District, and reaches its mouth at Kapuskasing Lake. Kapuskasing Lake flows via the

Kapuskasing River The Kapuskasing River is a river in the James Bay drainage basin in Cochrane District and Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, northeastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the river course. The river is a left tributary of the Mattagami River. Course ...

, the

Mattagami River The Mattagami River is a river in Northern Ontario, Canada. The Mattagami flows from its source at Mattagami Lake in Township (Canada)#Ontario, geographic Gouin Township in the Unorganized North Sudbury District, Unorganized North Part of Sudbur ...

and the Moose River to James Bay.

Recreation

Chapleau-Nemegosenda River Provincial Park is a waterway park operated by

Ontario Parks Ontario Parks is a branch of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in Ontario, Canada, that protects significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas that is sustainable and provides opportuni ...

that includes the Chapleau River from the entry of the tributary Racine Creek to the river mouth at Kapuskasing Lake.

Tributaries

*Makonie River (left) *Copperfield Creek (right) *Swanson River (left) *Adams Creek (right) *Racine Creek (left) *Chapleau Lake **Kebsquasheshing River

References

Sources

* * {{refend Rivers of Algoma District Rivers of Sudbury District