Spanish River (Ontario)
| Spanish | |
|---|---|
Mouth of the Spanish River at the Town of Spanish | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Biscotasi Lake |
| • location | Unorganized Sudbury, Sudbury District |
| • coordinates | 47°17′40″N 82°00′00″W / 47.29444°N 82.00000°W |
| 2nd source | Alligator Lake |
| • location | Unorganized Sudbury, Sudbury District |
| • coordinates | 47°25′35″N 81°51′54″W / 47.42639°N 81.86500°W |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | Unorganized Sudbury |
| • coordinates | 47°02′15″N 81°51′12″W / 47.03750°N 81.85333°W |
| Mouth | North Channel (Lake Huron) |
• location | Spanish, Algoma District |
• coordinates | 46°11′04″N 82°18′41″W / 46.18444°N 82.31139°W |
| Length | 338 km (210 mi) |
| Basin size | 14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 150 m3/s (5,300 cu ft/s) |
The Spanish River is a river in Algoma District, Sudbury District and Greater Sudbury in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It flows 338 kilometres (210 mi) in a southerly direction from its headwaters at Spanish Lake (west branch) and Duke Lake (east branch) to its mouth at the North Channel of Lake Huron just outside the community of Spanish.
The river's name and the name of the nearby towns of Espanola and Spanish are said to be due to French explorers and Jesuit priests encountering Ojibwe peoples speaking Spanish in the area, apparently as a result of a Spanish woman having been taken captive during an expedition far to the south.
The Spanish River is a provincially significant canoe route with lots of swifts and whitewater. It is therefore mainly used for recreational canoeing and has been protected as a waterway provincial park. There are four hydroelectric dams on the river: one, known as Big Eddy, above High Falls forming Agnew Lake; High Falls dam about a kilometre below Big Eddy dam; Nairn Falls dam about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) below High Falls and the other at the Domtar mill in Espanola.