The rivers and water bodies of Montreal are few and mostly artificial. Hydrography of the island of Montreal remained intact until approximately XIXth when Montreal underwent major urban works, including the construction of the Lachine Canal and the creation of the first major parks of Montreal.
History
editLast Ice Age
editAfter 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 receded, Mount Royal and its three summits emerged into islands. With the complete withdrawal of the sea, water was retained in some depression of the island. This was the case amongst others of Beaver Lake, located in the palm of Mount Royal. This gradually dried up to become a fen.[1] It was artificially dredged (excavated) in 1938.
Before XIXth
edit
There used to be a complex hydrographic, which is now destroyed or channeled.[2][3]
- Otter Lake (or small lake St. Peter): about four (4) kilometres long by about one (1) kilometre wide, a marshy lake that was halfway between Old Montreal and Lachine, south of Quartier Latin, the Saint-Jacques escarpment, and west of the Turcot Interchange. It was backfilled and gradually dried up, particularly with the construction of the Lachine Canal and the sector's industrialization. Today Highway 20 runs through the length and breadth in the center.[4]
- Saint Pierre River: started in Côte-des-Neiges down to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and widened forming Lake Otter. It then narrowed back to a river and lead to the St. Lawrence River in Nuns' Island.
- Little St. Pierre River: created artificially in 1697 under the name of "St. Gabriel Canal". This channel connected the Saint-Pierre River (in the east part of Lake Otter) up to the Pointe-à-Callière Museum. One part was channelled as qu'égout (William collector) in 1832. The Pointe-à-Callière Museum would make the public place around 2017.[5]
- Saint Martin River or Little River: It begins at Mount Royal Cemetery through Outremont, Quebec and the Mile End district and the Plateau Mont-Royal district until La Fontaine Park (including the pond is a remnant). Then it branched off westward through the Quartier Latin district and ran along the Montreal fortifications to the river. There are still some traces of the river.[6]
Today
editToday 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
editBelow is a partial list of current waters bodies of the island:
List of rivers
editReferences
edit- ^ Article of "journal Le Devoir" - Beaver Lake (Lac aux Castors) on Mount Royal
- ^ "Radio-Canada". Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- ^ sites.google.com Carte des sites de l'héritage autochtone
- ^ "Radio-Canada, emission "Rivières perdues"". Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- ^ a-propos de Pointe-à-Callière museum/museum/future-expansion-museum-projects Article "À propos du musée de Pointe-à-Callière"
- ^ Article "Des rivières perdues - un ruisseau méconnu"