Barron River (Ontario)
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The Barron River is a river in northern Algonquin Provincial Park in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is the southern branch of the Petawawa River. The Barron River flows from Stratton Lake near the Achray campground and joins the Petawawa near Petawawa, Ontario.
Approximately 10,000 years ago, this river was a main outlet for glacial meltwater in this region. The dramatic 100 metre deep Barron Canyon was formed during that time. The rocks exposed in the Canyon are part of the Canadian Shield. A popular canoe route passes through the canyon. A hiking trail leads to the edge of the canyon; caution should be exercised since there is no fence.
The Barron River lies inside a fault associated with the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben.
Waterfalls on the river include
- Brigham Chute
- High Falls
The true power of the river only reveals itself in the spring when these waterfalls are at their most spectacular.
The river was an important highway during the last part of the 1800s and early 1900s when its water levels were carefully manipulated to facilitate the transport of timber to the Ottawa River and onwards to the world. The Barron Canyon was the scene of noisy log drives every spring. The name the loggers used for the towering cliffs was the "Capes." Moving timber in this way was a dangerous task and evidence can be found by the graves still found on the edge of the Petawawa and Barron Rivers. Many stories abound and one can truly appreciate them when paddling or drifting through the canyon. The canyon itself is an awesome sight and still showing activity in the form of rockfalls and landslides (another reason to stay back from the edge). The talus slope at the bottom of the cliff is evidence enough.
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