A Waterfall Upon The River

The Hog's Back Falls can be found just to the north of Mooney's Bay, where the Rideau River and Rideau Canal part ways as they head into the heart of the city en route to the Ottawa River. Taking their name from an engineer's description of the rocks, the river tumbles through this small gorge in a series of chutes and plunge falls, modified by the work of men who were building the Canal. Naturally speaking, this area looked different before damming of the river altered the shape of the falls. It is set in a park that allows for viewpoints from both sides. I was down here in late June photographing at the nearby Dragon Boat Festival, which I covered in a post at my writer's blog at the time. I decided to stop here as well.

This view looks downstream- the river itself pours out of the gorge on the right. The water levels were low when I visited, as some of those rocks downstream tend to be underwater at higher levels.

There are a number of historical plaques and display panels set in various spots along the course of the falls detailing the natural and human history of this area.

I took these views of the gorge from the bridge crossing over the dam.

On the east side, you get a different perspective of the waterfalls. It's a lovely place to visit.