The Ekwan River is a river in
Kenora District in
northwestern 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. It appears as Equam on Bellin map of 1744. Ekwan River is of Cree origin, meaning "the river far up the coast". It travels about from its source at Zumar Lake on the
Canadian Shield, through the
Hudson Bay Lowlands, northeast and then east, to its mouth on
James Bay.
Course
The Ekwan
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, ...
lies between and is enveloped by the larger ones of neighbouring rivers, the
Winisk River on the north and the
Attawapiskat River on the south. The source of the river is
Zumar Lake at an elevation of , just northeast of part of the North Channel outlet from
Attawapiskat Lake, the source of the Attawapiskat River. It travels northeast over a series of rapids and falls, taking in various small tributaries, to a confluence point at at an elevation of , where an unnamed tributary, which begins at a point within of the Attawapiskat River, joins from the right.
The river continues northeast to take in the North Washagami River from the left at an elevation of then on to its point furthest north at , before turning southeast for . Then, within , three named tributaries join: the Matateto River from the right; the Crooked River from the right; and the Little Ekwan River from the left. They join at an elevation of about . The Ekwan River continues east southeast for , passing over the Flint Rapids at at an elevation of , before reaching its mouth at sea level at the Akimiski Strait on James Bay, across from the western tip of
Akimiski Island, about north of the mouth of the Attawapiskat River.
Discharge measurements taken for 28 years to 1995 below the confluence point of the North Washagami River at a point near showed a high mean monthly discharge of per second in May and a low of per second in March.
Economy
Mining exploration has taken place on the upper reaches of the river.
Tributaries
*Little Ekwan River (left)
*Crooked River (right)
*Matateto River (right)
*North Washagami River (left)
See also
*
List of rivers of Ontario
References
{{reflist
Rivers of Kenora District
Tributaries of James Bay