Spanish River (Ontario)

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The Spanish River and Domtar mill in Espanola

The Spanish River is in northern Ontario, Canada, which flows 240 km in a southerly direction from its headwaters in Lake Biscotasi (west branch) and Duke Lake (east branch). Several other tributaries empty into the Spanish such as: Pogamasing Creek, Mogo Creek, Agnes River and the Wakonassin River. It passes through Agnew Lake before emptying into Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.

Tributaries include:

This river has been used as a transportation corridor for thousands of years, first by Native Canadians and in the 19th century by fur traders, many of whom were natives. During the late 19th and mid 20th century, it was used to transport logs to Georgian Bay where they were towed by tugs to sawmills on the Great Lakes. Now, the river is mainly used for recreational canoeing and has been protected as a waterway provincial park. There are also three hydro-electric dams on the river; one at High Falls on Lake Agnew, Big Eddy and the other at the Domtar mill in Espanola.

The river's name and the name of the nearby town of Espanola, Ontario are due to French explorers/Jesuit priests encountering Ojibway native peoples speaking Spanish in the area, apparently as a result of a Spanish woman having been taking captive during an expedition far to the south.