Kakabeka Falls
Encyclopedia
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, established in 1955, covers 5 km² (1,236 acres) and is managed by Ontario Parks
. It surrounds the falls and extends along the Kaministiquia River, which was used centuries ago by Voyageur
s, who were the first Europeans to overwinter annually in northern Ontario
. They used the Kaministiquia River as a major route to the northwest, with a 1.3 km (0.807784557644749 mi) mountain portage
around the falls. A hotel with terrace which was once located on the edge of the gorge was removed after the Park's creation. It included a round restaurant that once overlooked the falls, and in winter would get covered in a thick layer of ice from the spray of the falls.
The park has two campgrounds with 169 camp sites, 90 of which have electricity. The park maintains 17.9 km (11.1 mi) of hiking on six trails, and offers cross-country ski trails in the winter. A small Natural Heritage Education
program is operated within the park in the summer, and offers daily interpretive programs, guided hikes, and a visitor centre.
tribe instructs his daughter, Princess Green Mantle, to devise a plan to protect her people. She entered the Sioux camp along the Kaministiquia River and, pretending to be lost, she bargained with them to spare her life if she would bring them to her father's camp. Placed at the head of the canoe
, she instead led herself and the Sioux warriors over the falls to their deaths, sparing her tribe from the attack. The legend claims that one can see Green Mantle when looking into the mist of Kakabeka Falls, a monument to the princess that gave her life to save her people. Other versions of the legend say she came across the Sioux herself, and later jumped out of the canoe ahead of the falls and swam to shore, leaving the Sioux to go over the falls, then ran back to the camp to warn her people.
The most famous painting featuring the falls, painted by Lucius Richard O'Brien
in 1882, is held by the National Gallery of Canada
.
Frances Anne Hopkins
, whose historic paintings are well-known for her portrayal of Canadian life, painted the portage around the falls in 1877. Her painting, "The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario", depicts the Red River Expedition
of 1870 portaging around the falls on its way to the Red River Colony
to interdict Louis Riel
.
Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks is the branch of the Ministry of Natural Resources that administers the provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres , about 10 percent of the province's surface area or the equivalent of an area approximately equal to Nova Scotia...
. It surrounds the falls and extends along the Kaministiquia River, which was used centuries ago by Voyageur
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
s, who were the first Europeans to overwinter annually in northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
. They used the Kaministiquia River as a major route to the northwest, with a 1.3 km (0.807784557644749 mi) mountain portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
around the falls. A hotel with terrace which was once located on the edge of the gorge was removed after the Park's creation. It included a round restaurant that once overlooked the falls, and in winter would get covered in a thick layer of ice from the spray of the falls.
The park has two campgrounds with 169 camp sites, 90 of which have electricity. The park maintains 17.9 km (11.1 mi) of hiking on six trails, and offers cross-country ski trails in the winter. A small Natural Heritage Education
Natural Heritage Education
Natural Heritage Education is an educational program offered by Ontario Parks in some provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. It is designed to provide education focusing on the natural and cultural heritage of the park its surrounding area...
program is operated within the park in the summer, and offers daily interpretive programs, guided hikes, and a visitor centre.
The Legend of Green Mantle
The Legend of Green Mantle is about an Ojibwe chief who upon hearing news of an imminent attack from the SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
tribe instructs his daughter, Princess Green Mantle, to devise a plan to protect her people. She entered the Sioux camp along the Kaministiquia River and, pretending to be lost, she bargained with them to spare her life if she would bring them to her father's camp. Placed at the head of the canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
, she instead led herself and the Sioux warriors over the falls to their deaths, sparing her tribe from the attack. The legend claims that one can see Green Mantle when looking into the mist of Kakabeka Falls, a monument to the princess that gave her life to save her people. Other versions of the legend say she came across the Sioux herself, and later jumped out of the canoe ahead of the falls and swam to shore, leaving the Sioux to go over the falls, then ran back to the camp to warn her people.
The falls in art
Lucius Richard O'Brien
Lucius Richard O'Brien was an influential 19th-century Canadian oil and watercolour landscape artist.-Life and career:...
in 1882, is held by the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
.
Frances Anne Hopkins
Frances Anne Hopkins
Frances Anne Hopkins, , daughter of Frederick William Beechey was born in England and had a talent for painting. In 1858, she married a Hudson's Bay Company official, Edward Hopkins, whose work took him to North America. She accompanied him and travelled extensively by canoe along some of the most...
, whose historic paintings are well-known for her portrayal of Canadian life, painted the portage around the falls in 1877. Her painting, "The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario", depicts the Red River Expedition
Wolseley Expedition
The Wolseley Expedition was a military force authorized by Sir John A. Macdonald to confront Louis Riel and the Métis in 1870, during the Red River Rebellion, at the Red River Settlement in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba...
of 1870 portaging around the falls on its way to the Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
to interdict Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
.
External links
- Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
- Firstpeople.us - Princess of the Mist: The legend of Princess Green Mantle
- National Gallery of Canada - Lucius R. O'Brien - Kakabeka Falls, Kamanistiquia River (1882)
- Collections Canada - Frances Anne Hopkins - The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario (1877)