Rideau River

Rapids on the Rideau River opposite Carleton University.

Rideau River under Cummings Bridge separating Sandy Hill from Vanier in Ottawa

Rideau River and Rideau Canal opposite Carleton University.

1826 painting of the Rideau Falls, where the Rideau River empties out into the Ottawa River, by Thomas Burrowes

The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km. The river was given the French name "Rideau" (curtain) after the appearance of this waterfall.

The Rideau Canal, which allows travel from Ottawa to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario, was formed by joining the Rideau River with the Cataraqui River. The river diverges from the Canal at Hog's Back Falls in Ottawa.

In early spring, to reduce flooding on the lower section of the river, workers from the city of Ottawa use ice blasting to clear the ice which covers the river from Billings Bridge to Rideau Falls by cutting "keys" through the ice and using explosives to break off large sheets of ice. This practice has been going on for more than 100 years.

Tributaries

• Adrians Creek
• Duck Creek
• Tay River
• Black Creek
• Otter Creek
• Rosedale Creek
• Irish Creek
• Babers Creek
• Atkinsons Creek
• Rideau Creek
• Dales Creek
• Brassils Creek
• Murphy Drain
• Kemptville Creek
• McDermott Drain
• Cranberry Creek
• Steven Creek
• Mud Creek
• Jock River
• Black Rapids Creek
• Nepean Creek
• Sawmill Creek

Communities along the Rideau include:

• Ottawa, Ontario
• Manotick, Ontario
• Kars, Ontario
• Merrickville, Ontario
• Smiths Falls, Ontario

See also

• List of Ontario rivers

Further reading

• Legget, Robert Ferguson (1986), Rideau Waterway, University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0802025730, http://books.google.ca/books?id=CaA4OpW4Ao0C&lpg=PP1&dq=Rideau%20Canal&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true 

External links

• Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
• Biodiversity of the Rideau River (CMN, nature.ca)