Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
Mattawa to Rapides-des-Joachims
The geography and shape of the Ottawa River valley changes once you are downstream of Mattawa. A mere 5 km down river of Mattawa is what geomorphologists refer to as the Rankin constriction. Over 9,000 years ago Lake Agassiz, the Upper Great Lakes and the melting Laurentide Ice Sheet drained into the Ottawa River via the Mattawa River. There are huge glacial boulders strewn about, boulders that can no longer be moved by the river’s impressive peak flows.
This reach of the river is critical when it comes to managing water flows on the river. Today, instead of melting glaciers, it is the dams that alter water levels, out of sync with natural flow regimes and in sync with energy prices and demand. In a mere few hours, water levels can change so drastically that boats are stranded and fish spawn dewatered. No one knows this better than Doug Antler, owner of Antler’s Kingfisher Lodge who has lived on the river his whole life and understands the rhythms of the river. He has noticed fish populations change according to how water levels have been managed in a given year.
There are no longer any rapids in this reach of the river as the large dam at Des Joachims has back flooded the entire reach, leaving homes and railroad tracks to lie underwater forever. Before the dams were built this reach of the river had one of the most difficult and lengthy rapids that had to be portaged when navigating up river.
The shorelines along this 125 km reach of the river are beautifully intact. Unfortunately the rapidly changing water levels present a challenge for shoreline nesters such as loons – locals rarely see babies. The Quebec shore is uninhabited, save for a few rustic places. Most people are in this area to hunt and fish. It was positive to see bald eagles and other top predators on both trips on the upper Ottawa. We saw only a handful of boats the entire 4 days on the river and no other paddlers.
Although there were no visible pollution inputs (industry, farms, wastewater treatment facilities) on this reach of the river, there was planktonic algae suspended in the water column for most of the distance. Not surprising given the preceding weeks of warm temperatures and sunshine.
The largest tributary on this reach is the Dumoine River, one of only two undammed tributaries of the Ottawa River. We were fortunate to be joined by Jay Morrison of CPAWS who has been leading the campaign to have the Dumoine River protected as an aquatic reserve (no dams, no mining). This is an exceptional conservation project and hopefully will prevent Hydro Quebec from building a dam on the upper Dumoine; a project that has not been formally proposed, but has Chief Harry St. Denis, of Wolf Lake First Nation concerned. Few people know the Dumoine as well as Wally Schaber, owner of Trailhead and founder of Black Feather – Canada’s premier canoe tripping and adventure company. Many thanks to Wally who was our guide and supporter for this reach of the river.