Albany River

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Albany River
A First Nations encampment beside the Albany River, 1886
Origin	Lake St. Joseph
Mouth	James Bay
Basin countries	Canada
Length	980 kilometres (609 mi)
Source elevation	371 metres (1,217 ft)^[1]
Mouth elevation	MSL 0 metres (0 ft)
Avg. discharge	1,420 m³/s (50,1467 ft³/s)^[2]
Basin area	135,200 square kilometres (52,201 sq mi)

The Albany River is a river in Northern Ontario which flows northeast from Lake St. Joseph in Northwestern Ontario and empties into James Bay. It is 980 kilometres (609 mi) long, making it the longest river in Ontario. It is navigable for 400 kilometres (249 mi). This river drains an area of 135,200 square kilometres (52,201 sq mi). Tributaries of this river include the Cat River, Kenogami River, Ogoki River, and Drowning River.

For much of its length, the Albany River defines the boundary between the Kenora District and the Thunder Bay and Cochrane Districts. The land north of the Albany River was part of the Northwest Territories until 1912, when it was transferred to Ontario in the Ontario Boundaries Extension Act, 1912.

A provincial waterway park has been established on the river north of Wabakimi Provincial Park.

The river was named after James, Duke of York and Albany, who later became King James II of England.

The Hudson's Bay Company operated a trading post at Fort Albany at the mouth of this river, which was an important route during the days of the fur trade.