The Rivière des Prairies (literally River of the Prairies, sometimes called the The Back River in English) is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada.
Flowing west to east, it bisects the Hochelaga Archipelago and rises in the Lac des Deux-Montagnes. It flows on either side of Île Bizard (part of Montreal), it then divides the Island of Montreal (Montreal) to the south from Île Jésus (Laval) to the north, after which it flows into the St. Lawrence River at the eastern tip of the Island of Montreal.
The river contains a large number of islands, including Île Bizard, the Îles Laval (Île Bigras, Île Pariseau, Île Verte and Île Ronde) belonging to Laval, and Île de la Visitation, a nature park belonging to Montreal. The Rapides du Cheval Blanc are located downstream from the Îles Laval, in the portion of the river separating the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro in Montreal from Sainte-Dorothée in Laval.
Historically, the river received massive discharges of untreated liquid waste from Montreal, turning it into essentially an open sewer; however, ecological intervention and modern sewage treatment techniques reversed the damage. Much of the river is now considered clean; however, parts are still not suitable for swimming.
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