Nelson River
The
Nelson River (French:
fleuve Nelson) is a
river of north-central
North America, in the
Canadian province of
Manitoba. The river, 664 km long, drains
Lake Winnipeg and its
watershed into
Hudson Bay.
The river flows through the
Canadian Shield out of
Playgreen Lake at the northern tip of Lake Winnipeg, and flows through
Cross Lake,
Sipiwesk Lake,
Split Lake, and
Stephens Lake.
Since it drains Lake Winnipeg, it is the last part of the large
Saskatchewan River system, as well as that of the
Red River and
Winnipeg River. It therefore has a flow at its mouth of 2066 m
3/s.
Besides Lake Winnipeg, its primary tributaries include the
Grass River, which drains a long area north of Lake Winnipeg, and the
Burntwood River, which passes through
Thompson, Manitoba.
The river flows into Hudson Bay near
York Factory, Manitoba. Other communities upriver from there include
Bird,
Sundance,
Long Spruce,
Gillam,
Split Lake,
Arnot,
Crosslake, and
Norway House.
The lake was named by Sir
Thomas Button, an English explorer who wintered at its mouth in
1612, after Robert Nelson, a ship's master who died there. The area was fought over for the fur trade, though the
Hayes River, whose mouth is near the Nelson's, became the main route inland.
Today, the Nelson River's huge volume and long drop make it useful for generating
hydroelectricity. This has provoked bitter polemics with the
First Nations of the area, whose lands past projects have flooded and future projects threaten.
Fort Nelson, an historic
Hudson's Bay Company trading post, was located at the mouth of the Nelson River at Hudson Bay and was a key trading post in the early 18th century. After his pivotal role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company,
Pierre Esprit Radisson, noted French explorer, was chief director of trade at Fort Nelson during one of his sustained periods of service to England. Today, Fort Nelson is now called
York Factory. Port Nelson, the historic shipping port remains on the opposite side of the river mouth on Hudson Bay.
*
Nelson River Hydroelectric Project*
List of Manitoba rivers*
Manitoba Hydro*
Nelson River Bipole*
Information and a map of the Nelson's watershed
