Chaudiere

This past Sunday I ventured out to the Chaudiere Falls. Here on the Ottawa River, the flow of the river goes through several islands, and the main channel of the river comes through this waterfall. Altered by man, it still retains its power, particularly in spring when the flow is high. These falls were well known to the Anishinaabe tribe and other Indigenous peoples. Champlain saw them in his first exploration up the river in 1613, and it's from him that we have the name. In French, chaudiere is cauldron or kettle.

This was an industrial place, vital for timber and paper, and also hydro. Only hydro remains, with a ring dam controlling the flow, and some of the old buildings remain. A park has been fashioned here as well, but from here, we're looking at the water from a viewing platform outside one of the hydro buildings. Take a look at a video here.

Looking east takes in views of the nearby Chaudiere Bridge, the Portage Bridge downstream of it, and Parliament Hill in the distance.

I used the windows of this old ruin to frame the falls on the far side.

And then I moved along. More from these falls tomorrow.