Ottawa,

Ottawa, one of the largest rivers of British North America, rises nearly 300 miles due north of Ottawa city, flows west to Lake Temiscamingue, some 300 miles, and thence 400 miles south-east, and falls into the St Lawrence by two mouths, which form the island of Montreal. Its drainage basin has an area variously estimated at from 60,000 to 80,000 sq. m. During its course it sometimes contracts to 40 or 50 yards; elsewhere it widens into numerous lakes of considerable size. It is fed by many important tributaries, the chief of which are the Petewawa, Bonnechère, Madawaska, and Rideau on the right, and the Coulonge, Gatineau, and Rivières du Lièvre and du Nord on the left side. These, with the Ottawa itself, form the means of transit for perhaps the largest lumber trade in the world. The passage of timber over falls and rapids has been greatly facilitated by the construction of dams and slides. See next article.