Ottawa River

The Ottawa River (rivière des Outaouais) is a Canadian river which for most of its length defines the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It rises in northern Ontario and meets the Rideau River at Ottawa, where Parliament Hill perches atop a steep and very picturesque gorge. The river drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Montreal, forming Lac Saint-Louis. Because of rapids the river is not navigable between Ottawa and Montreal, and thus the Rideau Canal was created to circumvent this problem.