View source for Nelson River

{{Short description|River in Manitoba, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Other uses|Nelson (disambiguation){{!}}Nelson|Nelson River (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox river
| name               = Nelson River
| name_native        = 
| name_native_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Nelson River near Norway House, from the air.jpg
| image_caption      = Nelson River near Norway House
| map                = Nelson_river_basin_map.png
| map_size           = 250
| map_caption        = Map of the Nelson River drainage basin
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 250
| pushpin_map_caption= 
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Canada]]
| subdivision_type2  = Province
| subdivision_name2  = [[Manitoba]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = 
| subdivision_name5  = 
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|644|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=riverfacts/> 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= [[Hudson Bay]] (near mouth)
| discharge1_min     = {{cvt|1,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="An observational study of ice effects on Nelson River estuarine variability, Hudson Bay, Canada">{{cite journal|journal=Continental Shelf Research|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257118513|doi=10.1016/j.csr.2012.06.014|title=An observational study of ice effects on Nelson River estuarine variability, Hudson Bay, Canada|volume=47|page=68-77|last1=Ruixue|first1=Wang|last2=Greg K.|first2=McCullough|last3=Geoffrey G.|first3=Gunn|last4=Klaus|first4=P.Hochheim|last5=Abbas|first5=Dorostkar|last6=Kevin|first6=Sydor|last7=David G.|first7=Barber|year=2012}}</ref>
| discharge1_avg     = (Period: 1984–2018)<br/>{{cvt|111|km3/year|m3/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Recent changes to Arctic river discharge">{{cite journal|journal=Nature Communications|doi=10.1038/s41467-021-27228-1|last1=Dongmei|first1=Feng|last2=Colin|first2=J. Gleason|last3=Peirong|first3=Lin|last4=Xiao|first4=Yang|last5=Ming|first5=Pan|last6=Yuta|first6=Ishitsuka|title=Recent changes to Arctic river discharge|date=2021|volume=12|number=6917|article-number=6917 |pmc=8617260}}</ref><br/>{{convert|2,370|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=riverfacts/>
| discharge1_max     ={{cvt|7,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="An observational study of ice effects on Nelson River estuarine variability, Hudson Bay, Canada"/> 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Lake Winnipeg]]
| source1_location   = [[Warren Landing, Manitoba|Warren Landing]], Manitoba
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|53|41|20|N|97|50|52|W|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|217|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Hudson Bay]]
| mouth_location     = [[Port Nelson, Manitoba|Port Nelson]], Manitoba
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|57|5|5|N|92|30|8|W|display=inline,title}}<ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb|GATAH|Nelson River|2010-11-24}}</ref>
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = Nelson River
| basin_size         = {{convert|1,072,300|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=atlas>{{cite web |title= Canada Drainage Basins |year= 1985 |work= [[Atlas of Canada|The National Atlas of Canada]], 5th edition |publisher= [[Natural Resources Canada]] |url= http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/7b309ad9-9398-51d4-89d2-32b3871ec3ab.html |access-date= 12 November 2014}}</ref>
| tributaries_left   = [[Burntwood River]], [[Grass River (Manitoba)|Grass River]]
| tributaries_right  = 
| custom_label       = 
| custom_data        = 
| extra              = 
}}

The '''Nelson River''' is a [[river]] of north-central [[North America]], in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Manitoba]]. The river drains [[Lake Winnipeg]] and runs {{convert|644|km|mi}} before it ends in [[Hudson Bay]] near [[Port Nelson, Manitoba|Port Nelson]]. Its full length (including the [[Saskatchewan River]] and [[Bow River]]) is {{convert|2575|km|mi}}, it has mean [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] of {{convert|2370|m3/s|cuft/s}}, and has a [[drainage basin]] of {{convert|1072300|km2|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|180000|sqkm|sqmi}} is in the United States.<ref name=riverfacts>{{Cite web |url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html |title=Atlas of Canada |access-date=12 January 2007 |archive-date=14 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014235559/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Geography ==
[[File:Playgreen Lake in Manitoba.jpg|thumb|left|Playgreen Lake in Manitoba]]
The Nelson River flows into [[Playgreen Lake]] from Lake Winnipeg then flows from two channels into [[Cross Lake (Manitoba)|Cross Lake]]. The east channel and the Jack River flow from the southeast portion of the lake into Little Playgreen Lake then the Nelson east channel continues in a northerly direction passing through Pipestone Lake on its way to Cross Lake. The west channel flows out of the north ends of Playgreen Lake, [[Kiskittogisu Lake]] and [[Kiskitto Lake]] into Cross Lake at the [[Manitoba Hydro]]'s Jenpeg Generating Station and Dam. From Cross Lake it flows through [[Sipiwesk Lake]], [[Split Lake (Manitoba)|Split Lake]] and [[Stephens Lake (Manitoba)|Stephens Lake]] on its way to the Hudson Bay.<ref name="Natural Resources Canada map">{{cite web
| title = Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Geographical Names (Playgreen Lake)
| url = http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/GAVWD
| access-date =2015-01-07}}</ref><ref name= "Atlas of Canada">{{cite web
| title =Atlas of Canada Toporama
| url =http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/toporama/index.html
| access-date =2015-01-07}}</ref>

Since it drains Lake Winnipeg, it is the last part of the large [[Saskatchewan River]] system, as well as that of the [[Red River of the North|Red River]] and [[Winnipeg River]]. [[Devils Lake (North Dakota)|Devils Lake]] is unusual for a glacial lake in being [[open and closed lakes|presently closed]], also has been known to overflow into the Red River for at least five separate periods since [[deglaciation]].<ref>[http://savethesheyenne.org/greatlakes.htm Comments] on Statements by North Dakotas Senator [[Kent Conrad]] in His Letters to the Great Lakes Commission Regarding the Commission's January 23, 2003, Letter to Senators Urging Support of Senator McCain's Amendment on the Devil's Lake Outlet in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2003 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331162009/http://savethesheyenne.org/greatlakes.htm |date=March 31, 2012 }}</ref>

Besides Lake Winnipeg, its primary tributaries include the [[Grass River (Manitoba)|Grass River]], which drains a long area north of Lake Winnipeg, and the [[Burntwood River]], which passes through [[Thompson, Manitoba]].

The river flows into Hudson Bay at [[Port Nelson, Manitoba|Port Nelson]] (now a ghost town), just north of the [[Hayes River]] and [[York Factory, Manitoba|York Factory]]. Other communities upriver from there include [[Bird, Manitoba|Bird]], [[Sundance, Manitoba|Sundance]], Long Spruce, [[Gillam, Manitoba|Gillam]], [[Split Lake, Manitoba|Split Lake]], Arnot, [[Cross Lake, Manitoba|Cross Lake]], and [[Norway House, Manitoba|Norway House]].

=== Transportation ===
[[File:Port Nelson Manitoba.jpg|thumb|Port facilities at Port Nelson would have required a long causeway to reach deep water.]]

North America has just one port on the [[Arctic Ocean]], linked to the North American railway grid—at [[Churchill, Manitoba]], at the mouth of the [[Churchill River (Arctic Ocean)|Churchill River]].<ref name=Malaher>
{{cite journal
| author      = David Malaher
| title       = Port Nelson and the Hudson Bay Railway
| date        = Autumn 1984
| journal     = [[Manitoba History]]
| issue       = 8
| publisher   = [[Manitoba Historical Society]]
| issn        = 0226-5036
| url         = http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/08/hudsonbayrailway.shtml 
| access-date  = 2010-08-20
}}
</ref>
Originally port facilities were to have been built at [[Port Nelson, Manitoba|Port Nelson]]; original proposals for the Hudson's Bay rail link would have used that point as a terminus. Practical problems led to the port's relocation to Churchill. Those difficulties included a much greater need for dredging, because the Nelson River's water was more full of [[silt]], in absolute terms, and carried more silt because of its greater volume of flow. The Nelson estuary is broad and shallow, so port facilities would have to be constructed on artificial islands created in the middle of the river, that would require a causeway approximately a kilometre long to reach.

== History ==
[[File:First Nations people on the Nelson River.jpg|thumb|[[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people on the Nelson River, 1878]]
The river was named by Sir [[Thomas Button]], a Welsh explorer from St. Lythans, Glamorganshire, who wintered at its mouth in 1612, after Robert Nelson, a ship's master who died there. At that time, the Cree people who lived along its banks called it Powinigow or Powinini-gow, which may have meant "the Rapid Strangers' river".<ref>{{cite book|title=David Thompson's Narrative of his Explorations in Western America 1784-1812|date=1916|publisher=The Champlain Society|location=Toronto|isbn=1164617699|page=8|url=https://archive.org/stream/davidthompsonsna00thom/davidthompsonsna00thom_djvu.txt}}</ref> The area was fought over for the fur trade, though the [[Hayes River]], whose mouth is near the Nelson's, became the main route inland.

Competition over the fur trade drove multiple attempts to establish trading posts at the mouth of the Nelson over a number of years. [[Port Nelson, Manitoba#1670 expedition|One 1670 expedition]] organized by the newly-chartered [[Hudson's Bay Company]] and guided by the French fur trader and adventurer [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson]] successfully reached the Nelson estuary. Landing in September, the first overseas governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, [[Charles Bayly]], nailed a brass plate of the English royal arms to a tree, formally claiming the territory for England. They arrived too late in the season to trade with local indigenous people, however, who had migrated inland by that time.<ref>{{Cite DCB |last=Johnson |first=Alice M. |year=1979 |origyear=1966 |title=Bayly, Charles |volume= |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bayly_charles_1E.html}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Fort Nelson}}Fort Nelson (1670–1713),<ref name=NAF>{{cite web |website=North American Forts 1526–1956 |title=Manitoba |url=https://www.northamericanforts.com/Canada/mb-north.html}}</ref> a historic [[Hudson's Bay Company]] trading post, was built at the mouth of the Nelson River at Hudson Bay and was a key trading post in the early 18th century. After his pivotal role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company, [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson|Pierre Esprit Radisson]], noted French explorer, was chief director of trade at Fort Nelson during one of his sustained periods of service to England. Today, Fort Nelson no longer exists. Port Nelson, the abandoned shipping port, remains on the opposite side of the river mouth on Hudson Bay.

The Nelson River's huge volume and long drop make it useful for generating [[hydroelectricity]]. Flooding caused by damming of the river has provoked bitter disputes with [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] in the past although the Northern Flood Agreement was created in the 1970s to help offset the damages caused by flooding.<ref name=KulchyskiNelsonRiver>{{cite magazine |author=Peter Kulchyski |title=Flooded and forgotten: Hydro development makes a battleground of northern Manitoba|date=February 28, 2012 |access-date=February 13, 2013 |url=http://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/flooded-and-forgotten |magazine=Briar Patch Magazine }}</ref>

{{quote|"Travelling up the Nelson River, it's easy to see the impacts of hydro development. The once-pristine water is now silty and not to be trusted for drinking. Trees fall into the river everywhere along the shore, thanks to erosion caused by constantly fluctuating water levels. Ancient graves are being exposed, and sacred sites are now under water. What was once a highway for hunters is now dangerous to travel in winter, as the location of ice pockets created by flooding and retreating water cannot be predicted. A river that was once the basis for life has become deadly." Peter Kulchyski 2012<ref name=KulchyskiNelsonRiver />}}

== See also ==
*[[List of longest rivers of Canada]]
*[[Nelson River Hydroelectric Project]]
*[[List of rivers of Manitoba]]
*[[Manitoba Hydro]]
*[[Nelson River Bipole]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/maps_detail_static.cfm?map_select=395&theme=2 Information and a map of the Nelson's watershed]

{{Pleistocene Lakes and Seas}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Rivers of Northern Manitoba]]
[[Category:Tributaries of Hudson Bay]]