The Exploits River ( Mi'kmaq: Sple'tk; Tenenigeg) is a river in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada. It flows through the Exploits Valley in the central part of Newfoundland .
15-844: Including the Lloyds River, which discharges in Beothuk Lake, the Exploits river has a length of 246 km, making it the longest river on the island draining an area of 1,100 km and is the second longest in the province after the Churchill River . The river drains Beothuk Lake at its source and discharges into the Bay of Exploits near the port town of Botwood . The Exploits River provides habitat for spawning Atlantic Salmon and other species of fish. The salmon population increased dramatically when fish ladders were installed, opening up sections of
30-624: A four-man party embarked in canoes heading westward from the expedition's schooner Julia Decker , but injury forced two of them to turn back. Austin Cary and Dennis Cole continued onward; after a 300-mile (480 km) trek they reached the falls by foot on August 13. They named the canyon at the foot of the falls " Bowdoin Canyon", after their alma mater . They also named a nearby peak Mount Hyde, after Bowdoin president William DeWitt Hyde . In 1894, Albert Peter Low of Canada's Geological Survey reached
45-530: A major part of the financing and access to the North American power grid ) has taken a disproportionate share of the development's profits. Hydro-Québec still buys power from the dam at rates established in the 1969 power purchase agreement. In 2012 divers using side scan sonar found what they believe is the wreck of a U-boat just downstream of Muskrat Falls , validating a local legend. However, examination of historical records shows this to be unlikely, and
60-478: A significant landmark for local Indigenous peoples. The Innu believed that to look on these awe-inspiring falls meant death and maintained a strong taboo against visiting into the early 20th century. In 1839, a team led by Scoto-Canadian trader John McLean —seeking a navigable route between Fort Chimo in northwest Labrador and Fort Smith on Lake Melville in southeast Labrador for the Hudson's Bay Company —were
75-445: Is the site of a major hydroelectric project , which diverted almost all of the stream that once fell over Churchill Falls . It presently has a capacity of 5,428 MW and other slated hydroelectric plants on the river will bring the total to over 9,200 MW. The Churchill Falls development has become a source of friction between two Canadian provinces, as Newfoundland and Labrador asserts that Quebec's Hydro-Québec (despite having provided
90-679: The Central Innu , the Labrador Métis ( NunatuKavut ), and Nunatsiavut . The latter name was formerly calqued into English as the Grand River , the name commonly used by locals. In 1821, Captain William Martin of HM brig Clinker renamed the river the Hamilton River after the then-current commodore-governor of Newfoundland Charles Hamilton . The name gradually supplanted use of
105-650: The Smallwood Reservoir into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville . The river is 856 km (532 mi) long and drains an area of 79,800 km (30,800 sq mi), making it the longest river in Atlantic Canada . The Innu name of the river is Mishtashipu or Mishta-shipu ("Grand River") among the Labrador Innu and Patshishetshuanau-shipu (" Churchill Falls River") among
120-549: The Grand River before being replaced on 1 February 1965 by provincial premier Joey Smallwood . Smallwood renamed it the "Churchill River" after the former British prime minister Winston Churchill ahead of the beginning of construction on the river's major hydroelectric project. In 2022, MHA Perry Trimper called for Churchill's name to be removed from the river in favour of either "Grand River" or its Innu name. The river flows in an arc, first north from Ashuanipi Lake though
135-548: The falls' former flow, leaving a small stream winding through its old bed and trickling down the rocks. John McLean called the cascades the Grand Falls , as the Churchill River at that time was usually still known as the Grand River as a calque of its Indigenous name. The Innu had a separate name for the falls, Patshishetshuanau ('place where the current makes clouds'). Captain William Martin's 1821 renaming of
150-526: The falls. Plans were made as early as 1915 to divert the river above the falls for power generation , but they were abandoned as unfeasible at the time. Following the development of the iron ore mines in western Labrador and the construction of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway in 1954, the project became workable and surveys and planning began. The Churchill Falls Generating Station started construction in 1967 and, in 1970, almost all of
165-504: The first Europeans to discover the area. McLean was mostly annoyed that the falls presented an obstacle to a direct river route and meant retracing his path back north, but he was still overwhelmed by the falls' majesty. Fifty years later, the unmapped falls were sought as part of an 1891 scientific expedition to Labrador consisting of alumni and faculty from Bowdoin College in Maine . On July 26
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#1732844048099180-467: The river after Labrador's colonial governor Charles Hamilton gradually became more common but the falls continued to be known as the "Grand Falls" or less often as the McLean Falls. On 1 February 1965, the provincial premier Joey Smallwood renamed the river and the falls after the former British prime minister Winston Churchill ahead of approving its large hydroelectric project. The falls were
195-518: The river that had been previously inaccessible. 49°04′52″N 55°19′39″W / 49.08111°N 55.32750°W / 49.08111; -55.32750 This article related to a river in Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Churchill River (Atlantic) The Churchill River , formerly known by other names , is a river in Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada. It flows east from
210-576: The saucer-shaped Labrador Plateau, and then mainly east through a series of lakes. Several of these lakes have been flooded to create the Smallwood Reservoir. The river then flows through a rocky canyon which is hundreds of feet deep, over Churchill Falls, and through a series of rapids below the falls. The water flow in the canyon has been mainly diverted underground through a giant hydroelectric power generating plant. The river continues eastward until it flows into Lake Melville. Churchill Falls
225-589: The sonar images were quite grainy. 53°20′58″N 60°10′39″W / 53.34944°N 60.17750°W / 53.34944; -60.17750 Churchill Falls Churchill Falls is a 245 ft (74.7 m) high waterfall on the Churchill River in Labrador , Canada. Formerly counted among the most impressive natural features of Canada, the diversion of the river for the Churchill Falls Generating Station has cut off almost all of
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