Mattagami River Rivière Mattagami (in French) | |
---|---|
Etymology | Ojibwe language |
Location | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Region | Northeastern Ontario |
Districts | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Mattagami Lake |
• location | Gouin Township, Sudbury District |
• coordinates | 48°00′46″N 81°33′28″W / 48.01278°N 81.55778°W |
• elevation | 330 m (1,080 ft) |
Mouth | Moose River |
• location | Gardiner Township, Cochrane District |
• coordinates | 50°43′42″N 81°29′14″W / 50.72833°N 81.48722°W |
• elevation | 48 m (157 ft) |
Length | 443 km (275 mi) |
Basin size | 37,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) |
Basin features | |
River system | James Bay drainage basin |
The Mattagami River is a river in Northern Ontario, Canada.
The Mattagami flows 443 kilometres (275 mi) from its source at Mattagami Lake in geographic Gouin Township[1] in the Unorganized North Part of Sudbury District, on the Canadian Shield southwest of Timmins,[2] to Portage Island in geographic Gardiner Township[3] in the Unorganized North Part of Cochrane District, in the Hudson Bay Lowlands.[4] Here the Mattagami's confluence with the Missinaibi River forms the Moose River, about 100 kilometres (60 mi) from that river's tidewater outlet at James Bay.[5] The Mattagami River flows through the city of Timmins as well as the town of Smooth Rock Falls[5] and its drainage basin encompasses 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi).[2] It is close to tourism sites offering activities such as fishing, canoeing and nature-based relaxation.
The Mattagami's name comes from the Ojibwe and means either "the start of water" (maadaagami) or "turbulent water" (madaagami), but the local Ojibwe population claim "Mattagami" is a corrupted form of "confluence" (maadawaagami). According to the Mattagami First Nation, Mattagami means "Meeting of the Waters".