Hayes River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hayes River is a river in Manitoba, Canada. York Factory is located at its mouth on the Hudson Bay. The 600 km (363 miles) river from near Norway House to York Factory (established in 1684) is an important link to the development of Canada. Long before Europeans came to Canada, Manitoba First Nations were using the river as ancient campsites according to pictographs.
The Hayes River was the main route between York Factory on the Hudson Bay and the interior of western Canada for explorers, fur traders and European settlers from 1670 to 1870. To get to the Hayes from Norway House requires a short trip down the Nelson River, then a turn onto the tiny Echimamish River to the Painted Stone portage. This tiny 10 meters of stone separates the Hayes watershed from the Nelson.
Today the river remains untouched. No dams or development mar its course. It is the longest naturally flowing river in Manitoba. The Hayes traverses the traditional territory of four First Nations – Norway House Cree Nation, Bunibonibee Cree Nation, Shamattawa First Nation and York Factory Cree Nation. It is still an important source of traditional harvesting for the First Nations. It is also a favorite recreational canoe route.
The Hayes flows through some of the most pristine natural areas of Manitoba. It is home to polar bear, wolverine, woodland caribou, the ivory gull, sturgeon, brook trout, beluga whales, bald eagles and moose, as well as a wide range of other wildlife. Traveling from south to north, its banks are lined with dense spruce forests, which change to a mosaic of stunted black spruce, tamarack and bogs. The river’s physical characteristics include whitewater rapids, large lake systems, waterfalls, deep valleys and gorges, as well as tidal flats.
Today the Hayes River offers visitors and local people recreational and heritage experience opportunities including canoeing and boating, hunting, fishing, and learning about Canada’s fur trade.
Currently, environmental assessments are being conducted in view of the construction of an all weather bridge at Wipanipanis, near Painted Stone portage, across the Hayes River as part of a winter road. The Hayes River became a Canadian Heritage river on June 11, 2006.
