Saturday, September 26, 2015

The End Of The Rideau River

I started this series a couple of weeks back at Green Island, and so conclude it here as well.

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain came up the Ottawa River in 1613. He and his party arrived in the Ottawa area, where waterfalls on the Ontario side caught his eye. Champlain thought they had the look of a curtain- a rideau in French- and so named them that. The waterfalls and the river continue to bear that name. It is actually two falls, winding around Green Island, dropping 9 metres (30 feet) into the Ottawa River, and giving their name to the parkland around it. This is the western branch.


Crossing over the hydro dam above the falls, one gets a good view of the Ottawa River, Gatineau on the far shore, and the outlet of another river on the Quebec side. That is the Gatineau River, which also converges on the Ottawa River in the same vicinity. This area would have been well known for thousands of years among the various First Nations peoples living here.


The eastern branch of the falls are the more extensive of the two.


If you look closely, you might see the duck just above the brink, eating the vegetation growing in the water. The water might be swift, but it's shallow, and the duck has no problem staying in the flow.


The best view of the falls are from the river below, and one will often see boats down there.


These views, taken at different times in the afternoon, are from the eastern platform. It surprises me that it's taken this long for me to come out here and photograph the falls for the blog.

35 comments:

  1. So pretty. Love the sound of water falling.

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  2. It's a beaut. I can see why Champlain thought they looked like a curtain.

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  3. You have such very beautiful falls, these are amazing.

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  4. Beautiful sky and falls photos. Love them all!

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  5. I've never seen a water fall in real life

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  6. Smashing, how lovely to have a waterfall in a city....

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  7. Oo! I especially like those last two shots.

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  8. Very interesting! I didn't realize that the Rideau ended in a wterfall. Always just think of the canal, not the river.

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  9. Loved learning the origin of the name!

    Janis
    GDP

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  10. Such beautiful place! Enjoyed reading the rideau story.

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  11. Lovely falls, William. I can almost hear the water rushing!

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  12. What a fantastic location, strange you didn't show this before.
    I always love the impressive sight and sound of water falls.

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  13. It's a beautiful area and well worth your time to take the photos.

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  14. @Whisk: I do too.

    @Tex: I think so too!

    @Andy: they do have that appearance.

    @Marianne: they're one of three in the city, and two of them are along the course of the Rideau. The other one's on the Ottawa River itself, but not as accessible as it should be.

    @Nancy: thank you!

    @Hilary: that's a surprise!

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  15. @Geoff: it certainly is.

    @Revrunner: I figured it was a good idea to have both. I took quite a lot up there, but these were my favourites.

    @Furry Gnome: the final course of the Canal in the city is required because of this waterfall and the Hogs Back falls, which I haven't photographed in quite awhile. They're upstream a few kilometres, not far from Carleton University.

    @Janis: it's an appropriate name!

    @Jose: thank you!

    @Linda: it's good to hear that water running.

    @Jan: very strange... and I'll have to not do that again!

    @Red: it certainly is. I'll have to come up this way more often.

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  16. Waterfall in almost middle the city, incredibly gorgeous view. Looks wonderfull.
    (Picture two could be from Finland)

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  17. Well, I'm surprised it's taken you so long to get out there and photograph the falls...but then it's not like you don't have anything else to do. That brave (or stupid) little duck fascinates me! I wonder if there's a chance it could get swept over the falls, and if so, it if would survive?/

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  18. Wonderful place, great images!

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  19. The waterfalls are gorgeous and thanks for the info on how the river got it's name. I didn't know that.

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  20. I didn't realize there were falls there where the Rideau ends. Your pics are great!

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  21. Lovely water views and the falls have such an appealing design.

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  22. @Orvokki: I've got to get to the other waterfall along this river before the end of fall. It's been a long while since I last photographed there.

    @Lowell: I thought about that when I was watching it- I figured it would break into flight and land down in the river below.

    @Linda: I do too.

    @VP: it's a place I really like.

    @Sharon: at some point I've probably mentioned the name origin, but it has been awhile.

    @RedPat: they're very different from the other waterfall upstream, which is more of a cascade than a plunge class waterfall.

    @Norma: so do I!

    @Gemma: they do!

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  23. Wow this is a very spectacular spot.

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  24. It does look like a curtain. Saucy duck.

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  25. Beautiful series of photos.
    I love water falls.

    cheers, parsnip

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  26. I'm very glad you got out here. These falls are beautiful as are the views in this area. Very nice. Thank you!

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  27. These are wonderful photos. I never knew this about Rideau! (My French isn't particularly fluent!) My son-in-law could have told me. He's busy running in Nepean for the Greens, though, and he's running - literally from gig to gig! He was on TV for the French debate commentary.

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  28. Love the white puffy clouds in the one. Beautiful pictures.

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  29. Wonderful photos. Love the last two . So surreal. Beautiful!

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  30. @Mo: thank you.

    @Mari: it does.

    @Parsnip: thanks!

    @Kay: I enjoy coming here.

    @Linda: they are.

    @Jennifer: thanks!

    @Shelly: thank you.

    @Carolann: thanks!

    @EG: that they are.

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