The Saint Pierre River was a river in the city of Montreal , Quebec , Canada, flowing into the St. Lawrence River . The city of Montreal was founded at its mouth, at the height of the site Pointe-à-Callière Museum .
23-625: The Saint Pierre river originated in the west of Montreal Island ; one branch led to the current Old Port of Montreal and the other poured into the river near the Aqueduct of Montreal in Verdun . Not far from the Saint-Jacques escarpment, the river formed Otter Lake at the present location of the Turcot Interchange . The river was long used as a sewer by area residents. In 1832, for safety's sake, it
46-587: A series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River , between the Island of Montreal and the South Shore . They are confusingly located near the borough of Lasalle and not Lachine . The Lachine Rapids contain large standing waves because the water volume and current do not change with respect to the permanent features in the riverbed, namely its shelf-like drops. Seasonal variation in the water flow does not change
69-583: Is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelaga Archipelago at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers. The first French name for the island was l'ille de Vilmenon , noted by Samuel de Champlain in a 1616 map, and derived from the sieur de Vilmenon , a patron of the founders of Quebec at the court of Louis XIII . However, by 1632 Champlain referred to
92-550: The Atlantic Ocean . The Lachine Canal on the island bypasses this complex part of the river. Neighboring islands in the St. Lawrence include Saint Helen's Island , Notre Dame Island , and Nuns' Island . The topography of the island has been significantly altered by human activity, as evidenced by historical maps that name a lake St. Pierre in the island. This lake, and several other watercourses, have been drained or covered over as
115-665: The Gulf of Saint Lawrence . The Island of Montreal is the largest island in the Hochelaga Archipelago , which is formed by the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Near the Ottawa shore at the western end of island, the Ottawa River widens into Lac des Deux-Montagnes . A natural watercourse there, between the island and Île Perrot , has been improved by the island's Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal . These waterways, connecting Lac des Deux-Montagnes with Lake Saint-Louis , constitute one of
138-518: The Isle de Mont-real in another map. The island derived its name from Mount Royal ( French Mont Royal , then pronounced [mɔ̃ ʁwajal] ), and gradually spread its name to the town, which had originally been called Ville-Marie. In Kanien’kéha , the island is called Tiohtià:ke tsi ionhwéntsare ('broken in two', referring to the Lachine Rapids to the island's southwest) or Otsirà:ke (meaning 'on
161-770: The Jacques Cartier Bridge together accommodate 101 million vehicle crossings a year. The island of Montreal is a hub for the Québec autoroute system , and is served by Québec autoroutes A-10 (known as the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal), A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian autoroute to the north of it), A-13 (aka autoroute Chomedey), A-20 , A-25 , A-40 (part of
184-483: The Northwest Passage . In 1611, Samuel de Champlain named the rapids Sault Saint-Louis, after a teenaged crewman named Louis who drowned here; the name later extended to Lac Saint-Louis . This name remained in use until the mid-19th century, but later came to be replaced by the name of the adjacent town of Lachine. The first Europeans known to have traveled above these rapids were Champlain and Étienne Brûlé on
207-601: The Pointe-à-Callière Museum , while a section of its route is visible near the Côte-Saint-Paul locks of the Lachine Canal . Download coordinates as: Montreal Island The Island of Montreal ( French : Île de Montréal , [il d(ə) mɔ̃ʁeal] ) is a large island in southwestern Quebec , Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal , and
230-515: The Trans-Canada Highway system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section), A-520 , and R-136 (aka the Ville-Marie autoroute). Many of these autoroutes are frequently congested at rush hour . However, in recent years, the government has acknowledged this problem and is working on long-term solutions to alleviate the congestion. One such example is
253-583: The 13 June 1611. Brûlé continued upriver to live among the Algonquin , while Champlain himself would not travel further up the Ottawa River until May 1613. Louis Jolliet 's July 1674 canoe accident in the rapids destroyed his official report on the existence of the Mississippi River , and raised the standing of his fellow explorer Jacques Marquette . The first person to design a ship capable of shooting
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#1732851316009276-766: The Lachine Rapids was shipbuilder and carpenter John McQuaid, a native of County Armagh , Ireland who later settled in Kingston, Ontario with his family. Whitewater rafting and jet boat expeditions to the rapids are available in Montreal. Whitewater kayaking has become popular, along with river surfing , on a standing wave adjacent to the Habitat 67 .( 45°30′00″N 73°32′31″W / 45.50000°N 73.54194°W / 45.50000; -73.54194 ). The city maintains Des Rapids Park which doubles as bird sanctuary and
299-512: The St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence coast of the island faces a variable waterway. In the southwest, the St. Lawrence River widens into Lake Saint-Louis as it approaches the island. Around a southern point near the center of the island, the St. Lawrence narrows into the Lachine Rapids , then widens into the Bassin de La Prairie past that southern point, and narrows again at the Montreal neighborhood of Cite Du Havre before flowing towards Quebec City and
322-472: The bedrock of the island consists of Chazy limestone , with some Utica shale . At the centre of the island stand the three peaks of Mount Royal , a volcanic intrusion (not an extinct volcano , contrary to popular belief). This short mountain (elevation 233 metres (764 feet) is a member of, and gives its name to, the Monteregian Hills . The island of Montreal is the major component of the territory of
345-549: The city developed, while areas on the island's shores have been reclaimed and extended. The southwest of the island is separated by the Lachine Canal between Lachine and Montreal's Old Port ; this portion of the island is partially divided further by the Canal de l'Aqueduc, running roughly parallel to the Lachine Canal, beginning in the borough of LaSalle and continuing between the boroughs of Le Sud-Ouest and Verdun . Most of
368-509: The city of Montreal , along with Île Bizard, Saint Helen's Island, Notre Dame Island, Nuns' Island, and some 69 smaller islands. With a population of 2,014,221 inhabitants (22% of the population of Québec ), it is by far the most populous island in Canada . It is also the 6th most populous island of the Americas and the 37th most populated island on Earth. In addition, it is the world's most populous island surrounded by fresh water. Montreal and
391-611: The city's port. Montreal remains a major rail hub and one of Canada's largest ports for that reason. The Lachine Rapids are now passed by the South Shore Canal (Saint-Lambert and Côte Sainte-Catherine locks) of the Saint Lawrence Seaway . The rapids contain a number of islands used by migratory birds . The first European to see the rapids was Jacques Cartier , who sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1535, believing he had found
414-413: The extension of Quebec Autoroute 30 on Montreal's south shore , which will serve as a bypass . Today's existing highways have been planned in the 1960s as part of a grid like transport system. Notably, turning right on red on the island is prohibited, and signage at entry points to the island indicates as such. Lachine Rapids The Lachine Rapids ( French : Rapides de Lachine ) are
437-548: The fire'). In Anishninaabemowin , the land is called Mooniyaang , named for the first stop in the great Anishinaabe migration from Dawnland (the Maritimes ) to the Great Lakes . The island is approximately 50 km (31 mi) long and 16 km (9.9 mi) wide at its widest point, and has a shoreline of 266 km (165 mi). It is the second largest island in the Saint Lawrence River , after Anticosti Island in
460-552: The other municipalities on the island compose the administrative region of Montréal . The area of the Urban agglomeration of Montreal , which includes the Island of Montreal and several other smaller islands, is 499 km (193 sq mi).). The crossings which connect the island to its surroundings are some of the busiest bridges in the country and the world. The Champlain Bridge and
483-524: The places where the Ottawa flows into the St. Lawrence. North of the island's western end, Lac des Deux-Montagnes flows into Rivière des Prairies , still part of the Ottawa. The Prairies separates the island from the other major part of the Hochelaga Archipelago including Île Bizard and Île Jésus . After coursing about 55 km (34 mi), the Prairie, at the northeastern tip of the island, joins
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#1732851316009506-450: The position of the waves, although it does change their size and shape. The rapids are about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) in length. In the past these represented a considerable barrier to maritime traffic. Until the construction of the Lachine Canal through Montreal, the rapids had to be portaged . Even with the canal, the difficulty was such that it was usually more convenient to ship goods by rail to Montreal, where they could be loaded at
529-424: Was decided to bury it by channeling in the nearby area Pointe-à-Callière Museum . The various other sections of the river were also buried in the following decades. The development of the property previously located southwest of the river resulted in no visible traces remaining of the river. In 1990, the collector was filled with sand, causing the complete disappearance of the river. The sewer's relics can be seen at
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