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List of rivers and water bodies of Montreal Island facts for kids

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The rivers and water bodies of Montreal are few and mostly artificial. Hydrography of the island of Montreal remained intact until approximately XIXth where Montreal will undergo major urban works including the construction of Lachine Canal and the creation of the first major parks of Montreal.

History

Last Ice Age

After the Ice Age, around 13,000 years ago, Montreal and the Saint Lawrence Lowlands were flooded by the Champlain sea. Within a few centuries, as and when these waters recede, the Mount Royal and its three summits are emerged into islands. With the complete withdrawal of the sea, water is retained in some depression of the island. This is the case among other Beaver Lake, located in the palm of Mount Royal. This will dry gradually to become a fen. It was regrooved artificially in 1938.

Before XIXth

Rivieres de Montreal vers 1700
Approximation streams near the fortifications of the city of Montreal in New France

There used to be a complex hydrographic, now destroyed or channeled.

  • Otter Lake [fr] (or small lake St. Peter): long by about 4 kilometers and one kilometer wide, marshy lake that was halfway between the Old Montreal and Lachine, south of Quartier Latin, the Saint-Jacques escarpment [fr], and west of the Turcot Interchange. It was backfilled and gradually dried up, particularly with the construction of the Lachine Canal and with the industrialization of the sector. The highway 20 runs through the length and breadth of today in the center.
  • Saint Pierre River: started in Côte-des-Neiges down to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and widening formed Lake Otter. It then returns to the river and leads to St. Lawrence River in Nuns' Island.
  • Little St. Pierre River: created artificially in 1697 under the name of "St. Gabriel canal". This channel connects the Saint-Pierre River (in the east part of Lake Otter) up the Pointe-à-Callière Museum. One part was channeled as qu'égout (William collector) in 1832. The Pointe-à-Callière Museum would make the public place around 2017.
  • Saint Martin River or Little River: It begins at Mount Royal Cemetery through Outremont, Quebec and the Mile End and Plateau Mont-Royal until La Fontaine Park (including the pond is a remnant). Then it branched off westward through the Quartier Latin and ran along the Montreal fortifications [fr] to the river. There are still some traces of the river.

Today

Today there are only a handful of streams and lakes in nature. However, many parks have ponds or artificial lakes of large size.

List of water bodies

Below is a partial list of current waters bodies of the island:

Name Photo Location Contact information Type Area (ha)
Lachine Canal Canal de Lachine canoe.jpg Montreal 45°27′39″N 73°36′17″W / 45.4607°N 73.6046°W / 45.4607; -73.6046 artificial 158 hectares (390 acres)
Aqueduct Canal Canal de L Aqueduc 02.jpg Montreal 45°26′11″N 73°35′58″W / 45.4363°N 73.5994°W / 45.4363; -73.5994 artificial
Olympic pool Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Bassin Olympique.jpg Jean-Drapeau Park 45°30′32″N 73°31′26″W / 45.5089°N 73.5238°W / 45.5089; -73.5238 artificial 24 hectares (59 acres)
Lake Île Notre-Dame Plage du Parc Jean-Drapeau.jpg Jean-Drapeau Park 45°30′08″N 73°31′31″W / 45.5023°N 73.5253°W / 45.5023; -73.5253 artificial 14 hectares (35 acres)
Centennial Lake Defaut.svg Dollard-Des Ormeaux 45°29′12″N 73°48′51″W / 45.4868°N 73.8143°W / 45.4868; -73.8143 artificial 9.8 hectares (24 acres)
Lac des Dauphins La Ronde, lac des Dauphins et réplique de La Grande-Hermine..jpg Jean-Drapeau Park 45°31′27″N 73°32′11″W / 45.5241°N 73.5364°W / 45.5241; -73.5364 artificial 5 hectares (12 acres)
Lac des Battures Defaut.svg Nuns' Island 45°27′16″N 73°33′17″W / 45.4545°N 73.5546°W / 45.4545; -73.5546 artificial 5 hectares (12 acres)
Main pond Parc Angrignon Étang Parc Angrignon.jpg Angrignon Park 45°26′35″N 73°36′05″W / 45.4430°N 73.6014°W / 45.4430; -73.6014 artificial 4.8 hectares (12 acres)
Little Basin Parc des Rapides 03.jpg Parc des Rapides 45°25′40″N 73°35′29″W / 45.4278°N 73.5914°W / 45.4278; -73.5914 artificial 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres)
Swan Lake Lac des Cygnes ile Sainte-Helene 2.jpg Jean-Drapeau Park 45°30′31″N 73°32′04″W / 45.5087°N 73.5344°W / 45.5087; -73.5344 artificial 3 hectares (7.4 acres)
Pond Fountain Parc La Fontaine 59.jpg Parc La Fontaine 45°31′29″N 73°34′09″W / 45.5248°N 73.5691°W / 45.5248; -73.5691 artificial 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres)
Beaver Lake Lac Castors.JPG Mount Royal Park 45°29′55″N 73°35′51″W / 45.4986°N 73.5974°W / 45.4986; -73.5974 artificial 1.9 hectares (4.7 acres)
Basin Jarry Park Bassin Parc Jarry.jpg Jarry Park 45°32′07″N 73°37′30″W / 45.5353°N 73.6249°W / 45.5353; -73.6249 artificial 1 hectare (2.5 acres)

List of rivers

See also

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List of rivers and water bodies of Montreal Island Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.