Black Sturgeon River (Thunder Bay District)

The Black Sturgeon River is a river in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located west of the Nipigon River, that flows to Lake Superior.

Black Sturgeon River
Location of the mouth of the Black Sturgeon River in Ontario.
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
RegionNorthwestern Ontario
DistrictThunder Bay
Physical characteristics
SourceBlack Sturgeon Lake
  coordinates49°17′00″N 88°46′32″W
  elevation251 m (823 ft)
MouthLake Superior
  coordinates
48°50′10″N 88°24′15″W
  elevation
180 m (590 ft)
Length72 km (45 mi)
Basin features
River systemLake Superior drainage basin
Tributaries 
  rightNonwatin River

History

Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park is a waterway park and occupies the land from Black Sturgeon Dam north to and including the lands around Black Sturgeon Lake.[1] In 1959, a dam was constructed on the Black Sturgeon river. Originally, this was done in order to control water levels, yet it also ended up preventing access to the upper reaches of the river. Many speculated that this construction is what led to the collapse of the most common fish type in the area, the walleye.[2]

Course

The river begins at Black Sturgeon Lake, southwest of Lake Nipigon, and flows southeast over the Split Rapids to Nonwatin Lake where the right tributary Nonwatin River and left tributary Ferguson Creek join. It turns south, passes Mount Magee on the left, and continues southeast over the Gardener Rapids and Black Sturgeon Dam, and further downstream heads under Ontario Highway 11 / Ontario Highway 17, the Canadian National Railway line and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline at the settlement of Everard. The Black Sturgeon turns abruptly southwest and reaches its mouth at Black Bay on Lake Superior, about 6 kilometres (4 mi) southeast of the community of Hurkett.

Geology

The river valley and Black Sturgeon Lake follow a major fault line, the Black Sturgeon Fault, which runs north–south. The valley also contains sills with columnar jointing which are related to the Midcontinent Rift System.[1]

Tributaries

  • Moseau Creek (left)
  • Shillabeer Creek (right)
  • Larson Creek (left)
  • Scooper Creek (right)
  • Mound Creek (left)
  • Nonwatin River (right)
  • Ferguson Creek (left)

See also

References

  1. "Chapter 5 Ecological Land Use and Resource Management Strategy - Section 5.1.1 Earth Science" (PDF). Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park Management Plan. Ontario Parks. July 2003. p. 13. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
  2. Furlong, P., Foster, R.F., Colby, P.J., & Friday, M. (2006), "Black Sturgeon River Dam: A barrier to the rehabilitation of Black Bay walleye", www.thunderbayfishing.com

Sources


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.