1. The Historic Ottawa River

A bird’s-eye-view of the Ottawa Valley illustrates its most important natural feature – the Ottawa River. One of the great rivers on the continent and the second largest in eastern Canada, the Ottawa River is approximately 1,271 km long, draining a watershed of 140,000 km squared.

Most of the Ottawa River lies within the Canadian Shield, a highland underlain by Precambrian bedrock spanning the continent. Its predominantly acidic, erosion-resistant substrate sustains vast forests essential to the production of the largest supply of fresh water in the world. From this expansive reservoir flow rivers of immense ecological and economic importance: the St Lawrence, the Saguenay, the Nelson, the Eastmain, the Churchill and the Ottawa.

The Ottawa River cradles the natural and cultural heart of western Quebec and eastern Ontario. Originally it nurtured plants and animals that recolonized vast regions of Canada following the end of continental glaciation 11,000 years ago. Centuries later Canada’s first Aboriginal peoples roamed this landscape, followed by Europeans in pursuit of furs, timber and land.

Beginning with Samuel de Champlain in 1613, many of the great names in North American exploration used the Ottawa River as a river highway into the interior. These and thousands of anonymous aboriginals, coureurs de bois, loggers and Old World settlers traveled, lived and died along the Ottawa River – the original trans-Canada highway.

Algonquin Provincial Park, with its rugged hills, beautiful lakes, and wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of many people. The value of the Park is even further enhanced by the variety of its exceptional educational and interpretive programs which have become a standard of excellence throughout North America since the 1940s. With Algonquin enriching the lives of thousands of visitors, it is not surprising that they wanted to give something back to the Park.

Algonquin Park was started in 1893 to establish a wildlife sanctuary, to protect the headwaters of the five major rivers which flow from the Park. Soon it was "discovered", at first by adventurous fishermen, then by Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven, and a host of other visitors who came by train and stayed at one of Algonquin's several hotels.

Over the years, the Park has earned unconditional devotion and worldwide fame. Hundreds of letters of inquiry arrive at the Park every month, more than 40 books have been inspired by the Park, and the list keeps growing. There is an Algonquin Symphony, paintings of Park landscapes hang in the National Gallery and hundreds of studies done on its protected flora and fauna have established Algonquin as the most important place in Canada for biological and environmental research. Clearly, Algonquin Provincial Park is a very important place for all those who cherish our natural and cultural heritage.