Saint Lawrence River
Encyclopedia
The Saint Lawrence is a large river
flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America
, connecting the Great Lakes
with the Atlantic Ocean
. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin
. The river traverses the Canadian provinces
of Quebec
and Ontario
and forms part of the international boundary between Ontario and New York
in the United States
.
between Kingston, Ontario
, on the north bank, Wolfe Island
in mid-stream, and Cape Vincent, New York
. From there, it passes Gananoque
, Brockville, Ogdensburg
, Massena
, Cornwall
, Montreal
, Trois-Rivières
, and Quebec City
before draining into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
, one of the largest estuaries
in the world. The estuary portion begins at the eastern tip of Île d'Orléans
, just downriver from Quebec City. The river becomes tidal in the vicinity of Quebec City.
The river runs 3058 km (1,900.2 mi) from the furthest headwater to the mouth and 1197 km (743.8 mi) from the outflow of Lake Ontario. The farthest headwater is the North River
in the Mesabi Range
at Hibbing, Minnesota
. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of fresh water lakes, has a size of 1344200 km² (518,998.5 sq mi), of which 839200 km² (324,016.9 sq mi) is in Canada and 505000 km² (194,981.6 sq mi) is in the United States. The basin covers parts of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the states of Illinois
, Indiana
, Michigan
, Minnesota
, New York
, Ohio
, Pennsylvania
, Vermont
, and Wisconsin
. The average discharge below the Saguenay River
is 16800 m3/s. At Quebec City, it is 12101 m3/s. The average discharge at the river's source, the outflow of Lake Ontario, is 7410 m3/s.
The river includes Lake Saint-Louis
south of Montreal, Lake Saint Francis at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Lac Saint-Pierre
east of Montreal. It encompasses four archipelago
es: the Thousand Islands
chain near Kingston, Ontario
; the Hochelaga Archipelago
, including the Island of Montreal
and Île Jésus
(Laval
); the Lake St. Pierre Archipelago (Classified biosphere world reserve by the UNESCO in 2000) and the smaller Mingan Archipelago
. Other islands include Île d'Orléans
near Quebec City, and Anticosti Island
north of the Gaspé
. It is the second longest river in Canada.
Lake Champlain
and the Ottawa
, Richelieu
, and Saguenay
rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.
The Saint Lawrence River is in a seismically active zone where fault reactivation is believed to occur along late Proterozoic
to early Paleozoic
normal faults related to the opening of Iapetus Ocean
. The faults in the area are rift
related, which is called the Saint Lawrence rift system
.
The river valley is a physiographic province
of the larger Appalachian
division, containing the Champlain
and Northern physiographic section.
and Alonso Sanchez
in the 15th Century and the Norse
500 years still earlier, explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence the first European explorer known to have sailed up the St. Lawrence River itself was Jacques Cartier
, during his second trip to Canada in 1535, with the help of Iroquoian chief Donnacona's two sons. As he arrived in the estuary on St. Lawrence's feast day, Cartier accordingly named it the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The land along the river was inhabited at the time by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians
. The St. Lawrence River is partly within the U.S. and as such is that country's sixth oldest surviving European place-name.
Until the early 17th century, the French used the name Rivière du Canada to designate the Saint Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The Saint Lawrence River served as the main route for European exploration of the North American interior, first pioneered by French explorer Samuel de Champlain
.
Control of the river was crucial to British strategy to capture New France
in the Seven Years' War
. Having captured Louisbourg
in 1758, the British sailed up to Quebec the following year thanks to charts drawn up by James Cook
. British troops were ferried via the St. Lawrence to attack the city from the west, which they successfully did at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
.
Because of the virtually impassable Lachine Rapids
, the St. Lawrence was once continuously navigable only as far as Montreal. Opened in 1825, the Lachine Canal
was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids. An extensive system of canals and locks, known as the Saint Lawrence Seaway
, was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower
(representing the United States). The Seaway now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior
.
During the Second World War
, the Battle of the St. Lawrence
involved a number of submarine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence
, Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait
from May to October 1942, September 1943, and again in October and November 1944. During this time, German U-boat
s sank a number of merchant marine ships and three Canadian warships.
In the late 1970s, the river was the subject of a successful ecological campaign (called "Save the River"), originally responding to planned development by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
. The campaign was organized, among others, by Abbie Hoffman
.
in Minnesota
(Seven Beaver Lake) is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:
The Saint Lawrence also passes through Lake Saint-Louis
and Lac Saint-Pierre
in Quebec.
's Kamouraska, Réjean Ducharme
's L'avalée des avalés), poems (in works of Pierre Morency
, Bernard Pozier), and songs (Leonard Cohen
's Suzanne
, Michel Rivard's L'oubli, Joe Dassin
's Dans les yeux d'Emilie). The river has also been portrayed in paintings, notably by the Group of Seven
. In addition, the river is the namesake of Saint-Laurent Herald
at the Canadian Heraldic Authority
.
In 1980, Jacques Cousteau traveled to Canada to make two films on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, Cries from the Deep and St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, connecting the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
with the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin
Great Lakes Basin
The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large...
. The river traverses the Canadian provinces
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and forms part of the international boundary between Ontario and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Geography
The Saint Lawrence River originates at the outflow of Lake OntarioLake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
between Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, on the north bank, Wolfe Island
Wolfe Island (Ontario)
Wolfe Island is an island located at the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River in Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County, Ontario. Together with Howe Island, Simcoe Island, and Hickory Island forms the Township of Frontenac Islands. It is the largest of the...
in mid-stream, and Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York may refer to:* Cape Vincent , New York* Cape Vincent , New York...
. From there, it passes Gananoque
Gananoque, Ontario
Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...
, Brockville, Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,128 at the 2010 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden....
, Massena
Massena (village), New York
Massena is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Andre Massena, one of Napoleon's generals....
, Cornwall
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...
, and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
before draining into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
, one of the largest estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
in the world. The estuary portion begins at the eastern tip of Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans is located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island...
, just downriver from Quebec City. The river becomes tidal in the vicinity of Quebec City.
The river runs 3058 km (1,900.2 mi) from the furthest headwater to the mouth and 1197 km (743.8 mi) from the outflow of Lake Ontario. The farthest headwater is the North River
North River (Minnesota)
The North River is a river, approximately 6 miles long, in northeastern Minnesota, the United States. Along with the East River, it is one of the primary tributaries of Seven Beaver Lake, the source of the Saint Louis River. Most of the North River lies in Lake County, with its outlet located in...
in the Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
at Hibbing, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes and hence the world's largest system of fresh water lakes, has a size of 1344200 km² (518,998.5 sq mi), of which 839200 km² (324,016.9 sq mi) is in Canada and 505000 km² (194,981.6 sq mi) is in the United States. The basin covers parts of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the states of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The average discharge below the Saguenay River
Saguenay River
The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada.It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east, and passes the city of Saguenay. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac....
is 16800 m3/s. At Quebec City, it is 12101 m3/s. The average discharge at the river's source, the outflow of Lake Ontario, is 7410 m3/s.
The river includes Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis, or in French , is a lake in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, adjoining the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers.The lake is bounded to the north and east by the Island of Montreal...
south of Montreal, Lake Saint Francis at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Lac Saint-Pierre
Lac Saint-Pierre
Lac Saint-Pierre is a lake in Quebec, Canada, located on the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières, downstream and east of Montreal. Including its shoreline, islands, and wetlands, the lake is a nature reserve...
east of Montreal. It encompasses four archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
es: the Thousand Islands
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
chain near Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
; the Hochelaga Archipelago
Hochelaga Archipelago
The Hochelaga Archipelago, also known as the Montreal Islands , is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers in the southwest part of the province of Quebec, Canada.-Size:...
, including the Island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
and Île Jésus
Île Jésus
Île Jésus is an island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies....
(Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
); the Lake St. Pierre Archipelago (Classified biosphere world reserve by the UNESCO in 2000) and the smaller Mingan Archipelago
Mingan Archipelago
The Mingan Archipelago is an archipelago located east of Quebec, Canada. It consists of a chain of about 40 islands.Starting but 124 miles from the end of the road along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River , the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve of Canada spreads about 109 miles...
. Other islands include Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans is located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island...
near Quebec City, and Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island is an island at the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Quebec, Canada, between 49° and 50° N., and between 61° 40' and 64° 30' W. At in size, it is the 90th largest island in the world and 20th largest island in Canada...
north of the Gaspé
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
. It is the second longest river in Canada.
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
and the Ottawa
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, Richelieu
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...
, and Saguenay
Saguenay River
The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada.It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east, and passes the city of Saguenay. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac....
rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.
The Saint Lawrence River is in a seismically active zone where fault reactivation is believed to occur along late Proterozoic
Proterozoic
The Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
to early Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
normal faults related to the opening of Iapetus Ocean
Iapetus Ocean
The Iapetus Ocean was an ocean that existed in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale . The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia...
. The faults in the area are rift
Rift
In geology, a rift or chasm is a place where the Earth's crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics....
related, which is called the Saint Lawrence rift system
Saint Lawrence rift system
The Saint Lawrence rift system is a seismically active zone paralleling the Saint Lawrence River. The rift system trends northeast and southwest and forms a half-graben that links the Ottawa-Bonnechere and the Saguenay grabens. The rift system extends more than 1000 km along the Saint Lawrence...
.
The river valley is a physiographic province
Physiographic regions of the world
The physiographic regions of the world are a means of defining the Earth's landforms into distinct regions based upon classic 1916 three-tiered approach defining divisions, provinces, and sections...
of the larger Appalachian
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
division, containing the Champlain
Champlain Valley
The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending slightly into Quebec, Canada as part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St...
and Northern physiographic section.
History
Though European mariners, such as John CabotJohn Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
and Alonso Sanchez
Alonso Sánchez
Alonso Sánchez was a fifteenth-century mariner and merchant born in Huelva, Spain, on Andalusia's Atlantic coast...
in the 15th Century and the Norse
Norse colonization of the Americas
The Norse colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th century, when Norse sailors explored and settled areas of the North Atlantic, including the northeastern fringes of North America....
500 years still earlier, explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence the first European explorer known to have sailed up the St. Lawrence River itself was Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
, during his second trip to Canada in 1535, with the help of Iroquoian chief Donnacona's two sons. As he arrived in the estuary on St. Lawrence's feast day, Cartier accordingly named it the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The land along the river was inhabited at the time by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a prehistoric First Nations/Native American indigenous people who lived from the 14th century until about 1580 CE along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States. They spoke Laurentian...
. The St. Lawrence River is partly within the U.S. and as such is that country's sixth oldest surviving European place-name.
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
.
Control of the river was crucial to British strategy to capture New France
Great Britain in the Seven Years War
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. Having captured Louisbourg
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
in 1758, the British sailed up to Quebec the following year thanks to charts drawn up by James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
. British troops were ferried via the St. Lawrence to attack the city from the west, which they successfully did at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
.
Because of the virtually impassable Lachine Rapids
Lachine Rapids
The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine....
, the St. Lawrence was once continuously navigable only as far as Montreal. Opened in 1825, the Lachine Canal
Lachine Canal
The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China...
was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids. An extensive system of canals and locks, known as the Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The Saint Lawrence Seaway , , is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal...
, was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
(representing the United States). The Seaway now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Battle of the St. Lawrence
Battle of the St. Lawrence
The Battle of the St. Lawrence involved a number of submarine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait from May-October 1942, September 1943, and again in October-November 1944...
involved a number of submarine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
, Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
from May to October 1942, September 1943, and again in October and November 1944. During this time, German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s sank a number of merchant marine ships and three Canadian warships.
In the late 1970s, the river was the subject of a successful ecological campaign (called "Save the River"), originally responding to planned development by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. The campaign was organized, among others, by Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
.
Names
The source of the North River in the Mesabi RangeMesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
(Seven Beaver Lake) is considered to be the source of the Saint Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:
- North RiverNorth River (Minnesota)The North River is a river, approximately 6 miles long, in northeastern Minnesota, the United States. Along with the East River, it is one of the primary tributaries of Seven Beaver Lake, the source of the Saint Louis River. Most of the North River lies in Lake County, with its outlet located in...
- Saint Louis RiverSaint Louis RiverThe St. Louis River is a river in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin that flows into Lake Superior. The largest U.S. river to flow into the lake, it is 179 miles in length and starts near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. The river's watershed is in area...
- Lake SuperiorLake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
- Saint Marys RiverSt. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)The St. Marys River , sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of ....
- Lake HuronLake HuronLake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
- Saint Clair RiverSt. Clair RiverThe St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
- Lake Saint ClairLake Saint Clair (North America)Lake St. Clair is a fresh-water lake named after Clare of Assisi that lies between the Province of Ontario and the State of Michigan, and its midline also forms the boundary between Canada and the United States of America. Lake St. Clair includes the Anchor Bay along the Metro Detroit coastline...
- Detroit RiverDetroit RiverThe Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
- Lake ErieLake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
- Niagara RiverNiagara RiverThe Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
- Lake OntarioLake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
- Thousand IslandsThousand IslandsThe Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
- Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence also passes through Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis, or in French , is a lake in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, adjoining the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers.The lake is bounded to the north and east by the Island of Montreal...
and Lac Saint-Pierre
Lac Saint-Pierre
Lac Saint-Pierre is a lake in Quebec, Canada, located on the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières, downstream and east of Montreal. Including its shoreline, islands, and wetlands, the lake is a nature reserve...
in Quebec.
Works
The St. Lawrence River is at the heart of many Quebec novels (Anne HébertAnne Hébert
Anne Hébert, CC, OQ , was a Canadian author and poet. She is a descendant of famed French-Canadian historian Francois-Xavier Garneau, "and has carried on the family literary tradition spectacularly."...
's Kamouraska, Réjean Ducharme
Réjean Ducharme
Réjean Ducharme is a Quebec novelist and playwright who currently resides in Montreal. He is extremely reclusive and has not appeared at any public functions since his first successful book was published in 1966...
's L'avalée des avalés), poems (in works of Pierre Morency
Pierre Morency
Pierre Morency, OC, CQ is a French Canadian writer, poet and playwright.-Life:Born in Lauzon, Quebec, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Collège de Lévis in 1963 and a teaching diploma from the Université Laval in 1966.-Awards:...
, Bernard Pozier), and songs (Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's Suzanne
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)
"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s, and often heard in a recording by Judy Collins. It has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen's catalogue....
, Michel Rivard's L'oubli, Joe Dassin
Joe Dassin
Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
's Dans les yeux d'Emilie). The river has also been portrayed in paintings, notably by the Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
. In addition, the river is the namesake of Saint-Laurent Herald
Saint-Laurent Herald
Saint-Laurent Herald of Arms is the title of one of the officers of arms at the Canadian Heraldic Authority in Ottawa. Like the other heralds at the Authority, the name is derived from a Canadian river, in this case the Saint Lawrence River...
at the Canadian Heraldic Authority
Canadian Heraldic Authority
The Canadian Heraldic Authority is part of the Canadian honours system under the Queen of Canada, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General. The Authority is responsible for the creation and granting of new coats of arms , flags and badges for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and...
.
In 1980, Jacques Cousteau traveled to Canada to make two films on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, Cries from the Deep and St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea.
See also
- NEPCO 140 Oil SpillNEPCO 140 Oil SpillThe NEPCO 140 Oil Spill took place in 1976 near Clayton, New York when the NEPCO 140 ran aground while traveling inland, spilling an estimated of oil into the Saint Lawrence River.-Oil spill:...
- Boldt CastleBoldt CastleBoldt Castle, located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands of the Saint Lawrence River, along the northern border of New York State, is a major landmark and tourist attraction in its region.-History:...
- Grindstone IslandGrindstone IslandGrindstone Island is the fourth largest of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River and the second largest American island. The island lies near Lake Ontario and is part of the United States of America. In particular, the island is in the Town of Clayton in Jefferson County, New York...
- Jorstadt Castle
- Wellesley IslandWellesley IslandWellesley Island in Jefferson County, New York, USA is partially in the Town of Orleans and partially in the Town of Alexandria.-Geography:...
- List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
- List of longest rivers of Canada
- List of Quebec rivers
- List of Ontario rivers
- List of New York rivers
- List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River
- Lac Saint-PierreLac Saint-PierreLac Saint-Pierre is a lake in Quebec, Canada, located on the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières, downstream and east of Montreal. Including its shoreline, islands, and wetlands, the lake is a nature reserve...
- Lachine RapidsLachine RapidsThe Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine....
- RMS Empress of Ireland
- Saint Lawrence SeawaySaint Lawrence SeawayThe Saint Lawrence Seaway , , is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal...
- Steamboats in CanadaSteamboats in CanadaSteamboats in Canada have a long history, both freshwater and ocean going.The Canadian paddlewheeler PS Accommodation was the first successful steamboat built entirely in North America in 1808....
External links
- Regional Geography of the St. Lawrence River
- Information about Juniper Island (Ontario)
- St. Lawrence Parks Commission (Ontario)
- Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System
- Safe Passage: Aids to Navigation on the St. Lawrence – Historical essay, illustrated with drawings and photographs
- Annotated Bibliography on St. Lawrence County and Northern New York region.
- International Saint Lawrence River Board of Control
- Saint Lawrence River from The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Saint Lawrence River Cam
- Watch the Jacques Cousteau documentary, St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea