The Oxtongue River is a river in Nipissing and Muskoka Districts, Ontario, Canada.[4] It is a tributary of the Muskoka River via Lake of Bays, flowing in a mostly south-westerly direction through undisturbed mixed forest that is home to many native mammal species.[1]

Description

Ragged Falls

The Oxtongue River springs inside Algonquin Provincial Park. After this park, the river enters the Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park, where it flows over 2 major waterfalls, the High Falls and Ragged Falls. Then it is crossed by Highway 60 and enters Oxtongue Lake. After the bridge of Highway 35, there is the Marsh's Falls, protected in the 69 ha (170 acres) Marsh’s Falls Nature Reserve. From there, the lower Oxtongue River meanders for 4.5 km (2.8 mi) to its mouth at Dwight Bay of Lake of Bays.[5] The river is controlled by 4 dams, at Burnt Island, Joe Lake, Tea Lake, and Ragged Lake. Its basin is almost entirely undeveloped, consisting of 28% Crown land and 69% protected in various provincial parks and conservation areas.[1] The river valley has been designated as a Muskoka Heritage Area.[5]

The river flows through a channel of an ancient glacial spillway, that drained meltwaters from the Algonquin Highlands into glacial Lake Algonquin. Historically, it was a canoe route for indigenous people. In the late 1800, the Gilmour Lumber Company used the river for log driving of timber from the Canoe Lake area to their mill in Trenton via the Muskoka and Trent River systems. Today, the Oxtongue River is used for recreational canoeing.[5][6]

Over the period 1981 to 2022, the Oxtongue River has a mean flow of 10.9 cubic metres per second (380 cu ft/s). Mean minimal flow is 2.84 cubic metres per second (100 cu ft/s) and mean maximum flow is 26.5 cubic metres per second (940 cu ft/s). Record maximum flow was 49.2 cubic metres per second (1,740 cu ft/s) in April 2019, while record minimum flow was 0.711 cubic metres per second (25.1 cu ft/s) in July 1991. Its discharge is affected by the Tea Lake Dam, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) upstream.[2]

Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park

The Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Huntsville, Ontario, protecting a 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) long section of the Oxtongue River from the west boundary of Algonquin Provincial Park to Highway 60.[6][7] This section includes a set of waterfalls that is considered as "one of the top 10 waterfalls in Ontario".[8]

The park includes two notable waterfalls:[6]

  • Ragged Falls, with a vertical drop of 25 m (82 ft) over a distance of 200 m (660 ft)
  • High Falls, with a vertical drop of 10 m (33 ft) over a distance of 10 m (33 ft)

The area has been recognized for its recreational value since the 1950s. In 1953 and 1959, the Crown land surrounding Ragged Falls was made into a Crown Reserve. In the 1960s, it was considered to add this area to the perimeter recreation system program of Algonquin Provincial Park. In 1985, the park was officially created with an original area of 382 hectares (940 acres), and enlarged in 1995 to 507 hectares (1,250 acres) by the addition of the 125 hectares (310 acres) Oxtongue River Bog Forest.[6][9]

The Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park is an operating park, meaning that permits are needed for day use. Permitted activities include boating, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, hunting, and fishing.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Oxtongue River subwatershed" (PDF). The Muskoka Watershed Report Card. Muskoka Watershed Council. 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Monthly Discharge Data for OXTONGUE RIVER NEAR DWIGHT (02EB014) [ON]". wateroffice.ec.gc.ca. Environment Canada. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Little Oxtongue River". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Oxtongue River". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Marsh's Falls Nature Reserve". www.lakeofbaysheritage.ca. Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation. 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park Management Plan". Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 1990. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park". www.ontarioparks.com. Ontario Parks. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Policy Report P378: OXTONGUE RIVER-RAGGED FALLS PROVINCIAL PARK (WATERWAY CLASS)". Crown Land Use Policy Atlas. Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario. 31 January 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

External links

Media related to Oxtongue River at Wikimedia Commons