Winnipeg River

Winnipeg River
Aerial view of Winnipeg River between Lac du Bonnet and Pinawa
Nelson River drainage basin
Location of the mouth of the river in Manitoba; Lake of the Woods is the large lake at the bottom right of the shaded area. Show map of Manitoba Winnipeg River (Canada) Show map of Canada
Location
Country	Canada
Provinces	Manitoba Ontario
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake of the Woods
• location	Kenora District, Ontario
• coordinates	49°46′18″N 94°31′27″W / 49.77167°N 94.52417°W / 49.77167; -94.52417
• elevation	322 m (1,056 ft)
Mouth	Lake Winnipeg
• location	Manitoba
• coordinates	50°37′54″N 96°19′13″W / 50.63167°N 96.32028°W / 50.63167; -96.32028[1]
• elevation	217 m (712 ft)
Length	235 km (146 mi)
Basin size	106,500 km2 (41,100 sq mi)[2]
Basin features
River system	Nelson River

Winnipeg River is a Canadian river that flows roughly northwest from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is 235 kilometres (146 mi) long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is 106,500 square kilometres (41,100 sq mi) in area, mainly in Canada. About 29,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) of the watershed is in northern Minnesota, United States.^[2]

The Winnipeg River watershed was the southeasternmost portion of the land granted in 1670 to the Hudson's Bay Company. The portion in Canada corresponds roughly to the land deeded to Canada in Treaty 3, signed in 1873 by Her Majesty's treaty commissioners and the First Nation chiefs at Northwest Angle on the Lake of the Woods. The river's name means "murky water" in Cree.

This river route was used by natives for thousands of years before European contact. French and English colonists also began to use the river in order to reach First Nations for the fur trade, with trade interactions for hundreds of years. It is the only major water route between what is now Ontario and southern Manitoba that was easily navigable by canoe. The Red River route was much farther south and had a longer portage. La Vérendrye was one of the first explorers to establish fur trade forts near the First Nations camps along the river.

The river section through Whiteshell Provincial Park has many petroforms near the Whiteshell River forks where the two rivers meet. These petroforms are an ancient reminder of the importance of the area for native travel, trade, ceremonies, harvesting, and settlements.

Since 1906 the river has been an important source of hydroelectric power to the city of Winnipeg.