The Echimamish River is a river bifurcation

River bifurcation

River bifurcation occurs when a river flowing in a single stream separates into two or more separate streams which continue downstream. Some rivers form complex networks of distributaries, especially in their deltas...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. Like the better-known Casiquiare canal

Casiquiare canal

The Casiquiare river is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems, a...

 it has the curious property of flowing between two river systems, in this case, the Hayes River

Hayes River

The Hayes River is a river in Northern Region, Manitoba, Canada that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was an historically important river in the development of Canada, and is today a Canadian Heritage River and the longest naturally flowing river in Manitoba.-Course:The...

 and the Nelson River

Nelson River

The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its full length is , it has mean discharge of , and has a drainage basin of , of which is in the United States...

. Located 50 or so miles northeast to the northern tip of Lake Winnipeg, it is about 40 miles long and runs almost exactly east-west. It flows through totally flat swampy country and has a barely detectable current. Flowing through peat bogs, the water acquires a dark color, hence the old name of Blackwater Creek. Since it is shallow canoe navigation is helped by beaver ponds. Morse (references below) claims that it flows in two directions from a central beaver pond. On the Echimamish is the Painted Stone Portage. This is not the divide between the two river basins, but a short (20 paces) carry around a shallow and rocky section near a lake. The only other obstacles are beaver dams.

It was part of the voyageur

Voyageur

Voyageur is a French word meaning "voyager" or "traveler".Voyageur can refer to:*Voyageurs, persons who transported furs by canoe during the fur trade era....

 route from Hudson Bay to Lake Winnipeg. Since most of the Nelson River is difficult, canoemen would take the easier Hayes and use the Echimamish to reach the upper Nelson and lake Winnipeg. For background see Canadian canoe routes (early)

Canadian canoe routes (early)

This article covers the water routes used by early explorers of Canada with special emphasis on the fur trade.-Canada and Siberia:Both Canada and Siberia were explored mainly by river. Both countries have many navigable rivers with short portages between them. There are no serious barriers to canoe...

.