Winnipeg River

The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is 235 kilometres (146 mi) long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is 106,500 square kilometres (41,100 sq mi) in area, mainly in Canada. About 29,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) of this area is in northern Minnesota.

The watershed stretches to the height of land about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Lake Superior. The Winnipeg River watershed was the southeastern-most portion of the land granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. The portion in Canada corresponds roughly to the land deeded to Canada in Treaty 3, signed by Her Majesty's treaty commissioners and the First Nation chiefs at Northwest Angle on the Lake of the Woods in 1873. The river's name means "murky water" in Cree.

This river route was used by natives for thousands of years and became a major fur trade route for hundreds of years. It is the only major water route between what is now southern Manitoba and Ontario that allowed natives to easily canoe back and forth. The Red River route was much farther south and with a longer portage. La Vérendrye was one of the first explorers to establish fur trade forts near the native camps in the area. The Winnipeg River system through Whiteshell Provincial Park has many petroforms near the Whiteshell River forks where the two rivers meet. These petroforms are an ancient reminder of the importance of the area for native travel, trade, ceremonies, harvesting, and settlements.

Winnipeg

Winnipeg (ⁱ/ˈwɪnɪpɛɡ/) is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.

The name "Winnipeg" comes from the Western Cree words for Lake Winnipeg nearby, referring to muddy or brackish water, or possibly the natural colour of the Red River that flowed into the southern basin of the lake. The region was a trading centre for aboriginal peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. As of 2011, Winnipeg is the seventh most populated municipality in Canada.

Known as the "Gateway to the West", Winnipeg is a railway and transportation hub with a diversified economy. This multicultural city hosts numerous annual festivals, including the Festival du Voyageur, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, and Folklorama. Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games. It is home to several professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian football), the Winnipeg Jets (ice hockey), Manitoba Moose (ice hockey) and the Winnipeg Goldeyes (baseball).

Winnipeg (disambiguation)

Winnipeg is a city in Canada and the capital of the province Manitoba.

Winnipeg may also refer to:

Union Station (Winnipeg)

Union Station is the inter-city railway station for Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a grand beaux-arts structure situated near The Forks in downtown Winnipeg, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976.

History

Initial Construction

Constructed between 1908 and 1911, the station was built as a joint venture between the Canadian Northern Railway, National Transcontinental, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the Dominion government. The first train to enter the station did so on 7 August 1911, with the official opening the following year on 24 June 1912.

Union Station was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architects responsible for Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style and constructed from local Tyndall limestone, Union Station was one of Western Canada’s largest railway stations.

The building extends for 350 feet (110 m) along Main Street, with the entrance close to the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. The building's entrance doors are located under a decorative iron canopy that projects from the austere white limestone. Atop the building is a large dome.