Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 History  





2 Geography  



2.1  Hannah Bay  





2.2  Islands  







3 Human development  



3.1  Coastal communities  





3.2  Economic development  







4 Recreation  



4.1  Canoeing  







5 References  





6 Further reading  





7 External links  














James Bay






العربية
تۆرکجه

 / Bân-lâm-gú
Беларуская
Български
Bosanski
Català
Cebuano
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Frysk
Galego

Íslenska
Italiano

Kiswahili
Kurdî
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Македонски


Nederlands

Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
Polski
Português
Русский
Slovenčina
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Українська
اردو
Tiếng Vit
Winaray


 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 




In other projects  



Wikimedia Commons
 
















Appearance
   

 





Coordinates: 53°30N 80°30W / 53.500°N 80.500°W / 53.500; -80.500 (James Bay)[1]
 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


James Bay
A satellite image of James Bay
James Bay is located in Ontario
James Bay

James Bay

LocationSouthern end of Hudson Bay, between Ontario and Quebec, politically part of Nunavut
Coordinates53°30′N 80°30′W / 53.500°N 80.500°W / 53.500; -80.500 (James Bay)[1]
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length443 km (275 mi)[2]
Max. width217 km (135 mi)[2]
Surface area68,300 km2 (26,400 sq mi)
Average depth60 m (200 ft)[2]

James Bay (French: Baie James;[3] Cree: ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, romanized: Wînipekw, lit.'dirty water') is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island.

Numerous waterways of the James Bay watershed have been modified with dams or diversion for several major hydroelectric projects. These waterways are also destinations for river-based recreation. Several communities are located near or alongside James Bay, including a number of Aboriginal Canadian communities, such as the Kashechewan First Nation and nine communities affiliated with the Cree of northern Quebec.

As with the rest of Hudson Bay, the waters of James Bay routinely freeze over in winter. It is the last part of Hudson Bay to freeze over in winter, and the first to thaw in summer.

History[edit]

Human presence along the shores of the bay began after the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age, around 8,150 years ago. A variety of indigenous cultures have lived in this area. At the time of contact with Europeans, the indigenous peoples along both shores of the bay were ethnically Cree peoples.

Henry Hudson is believed to have been the first European to enter the bay, when he explored it in 1610 as part of his exploration of the larger bay that was named for him. This southerly bay was named in honour of Thomas James, a Welsh captain who explored the area more thoroughly in 1630 and 1631.

James Bay is important in the history of Canada as one of the most hospitable parts of the Hudson Bay region, although it has had a low human population. It was an area of importance to the Hudson's Bay Company and British expansion into Canada. The fur-trapping duo of explorers Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers convinced the English Crown, primarily Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a favoured nephew of Charles I and cousin to Charles II, that a colonial enterprise in the north would yield wealth in minerals and fur. Des Groseilliers accompanied Captain Zachariah Gillam on the ketch Nonsuch and they jointly founded Charles Fort, the first European fur-trading post on James Bay.

Their success was such that the company was chartered by Charles II on their return, although they did not bring any minerals. This charter granted a complete trading monopoly to the company of the whole Hudson Bay basin (including James Bay). At the same time, the first English colony on what is now mainland Canada, Rupert's Land, was formed, with the first "capital" designated at Charles Fort. The first colonial governor, Charles Baley (various spellings exist, including but not limited to "Bailey"), was a Quaker, and this is believed to have been a factor in his respectful relations with the company's trading partners, the First Nations.

Significant fur trapping has continued in the region. In general, the east coast or East Main of James Bay was too easily accessed by French and independent traders from the south. The Hudson's Bay Company emphasised from an early period trading relations with tribes in interior trapping grounds, reached from the west coasts of James and Hudson bays. East Main was, nevertheless, the gateway to British settlements in what would become Manitoba (Winnipeg, for example) and as far west as the Rocky Mountains.

Geography[edit]

Hannah Bay at the southern end of James Bay.

James Bay represents the southern extent of the Arctic Archipelago Marine ecozone. While the coastal areas are primarily in the Hudson Plains, the northeastern coast bordering Quebec is in the Taiga Shield ecozone. This rocky and hilly eastern shore forms the western edge of the Canadian Shield in Quebec and as such, the main habitat is boreal forest of the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga ecoregion. The western shore, however, is characterised by broad tundra lowlands that are an extension of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and the vegetation is mostly muskeg bog. A large portion of this area is part of the Polar Bear Provincial Park. Ringed seals are common elsewhere along James Bay and polar bears can be seen hunting the seals as prey.[4] Beluga whales within James Bay basin could be distinct from those found in Hudson Bay.[5]

Hundreds of rivers flow into James Bay. The geography of the region gives many of them similar characteristics. They tend to be wide and shallow near the Bay (in the James Bay Lowlands), whereas they are steeper and narrower farther upstream (as they pour off the Canadian Shield). For a larger list of waterways in the region, see list of Hudson Bay rivers.

Hannah Bay[edit]

Hannah Bay is the southernmost bay of James Bay. Here the Kesagami and Harricana Rivers flow into James Bay. About 238 km2 is protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act of Canada as the Hannah Bay Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary has also been designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention since May 1987.

The shores in this area are a mixture of intertidal mud, sand, and salt flats, estuarine waters, intertidal marshes, freshwater ponds, swamps, and forested peatlands.[6] These elements make an abundance of wildlife.

Islands[edit]

James Bay contains numerous islands.[2] The largest of the islands is Akimiski Island, which covers 3,002 square kilometres (1,159 sq mi).[2]

All of northern Ontario and northern Quebec were part of the Hudson Bay Company's proprietary colony of Rupert's Land, and after Rupert's Land was purchased by Canada in 1869, the area became part of the North-West Territory. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Canada transferred much of the North-West Territory to Ontario and Quebec, thus forming modern northern Ontario and northern Quebec. However, all of the islands in Hudson Bay and James Bay remained part of the North-West Territory.[2] Following the partition of the North-West Territory in 1999, the islands in Hudson Bay and James Bay were transferred to the new territory of Nunavut.

Human development[edit]

James Bay, near Chisasibi, Quebec

Coastal communities[edit]

The shores of James Bay are sparsely populated. On the eastern shore in Quebec there are four coastal communities belonging to the Cree, the indigenous people of the region (from south to north):

On the western shore in Ontario there are five coastal communities (from south to north):

Economic development[edit]

Possible scenario of the GRAND Canal scheme, showing the initial water capture and diversion into Lake Huron.

Since 1971, the government of Quebec has built hydroelectric dams on rivers in the James Bay watershed, notably La Grande and Eastmain rivers. Built between 1974 and 1996, the James Bay Project now has a combined generating capacity of 16,021 MW and produces about 83 billion kWh of electricity each year, about half of Quebec's consumption. Power is also exported to the United States via a direct transmission high voltage line. The James Bay Project continues to expand, with work that began in 2010 on a new phase that involves the diversion of the Rupert River.

A proposed development project, the Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal (GRAND Canal), centred on constructing a large dike to separate southern James Bay from Hudson Bay. This would turn the bay into a freshwater lake, due to the numerous rivers that empty into it. The main benefit expected from this would be to redirect this freshwater for human use. Water would be pumped south from the newly formed James Lake into the Harricana River, crossing into the Great Lakes watershed near Amos, into Lake Timiskaming and the Ottawa River, crossing near Mattawa into Lake Nipissing and the French RivertoLake Huron (Georgian Bay).

Recreation[edit]

Canoeing[edit]

Many of the rivers flowing into James Bay are popular destinations for wilderness canoe-trippers. Among the more popular rivers are:

Two less-travelled rivers are the Groundhog River and the Harricana. The Groundhog is less travelled in modern times due to a series of seven dams that are about a day or two up-river from the Moose. Canoeists can contact the dam company and arrange to be portaged around the dams on company trucks, but they must make arrangements specific to the hour, and they cannot be late. The Groundhog flows into the Mattagami. The Mattagami then flows into the Moose; it is at the meeting of the Missinaibi and Mattagami rivers that the Moose river begins, marked by an island known as Portage Island. This point is about two or three days travel by canoe to Moosonee. Though the Missinaibi and the Groundhog are both fairly high in the summer, the Moose is often quite low. Depending on the tides, groups have had to walk long stretches of the river. Rapids on the Groundhog tend to be bigger and more technical than those on the Missinaibi, but the campsites are few and poor, because the volume of travel is so much less.

The Harricana River is wild, powerful, dangerous river that flows into James Bay 40 miles (64 km) east of Moosonee after two infamous sections of river known as 1-mile and 7-mile island. Consistent whitewater and waterfalls make these sections of river extremely dangerous. Anyone wishing to take this route must allow about two days to cross the bay, an extremely dangerous proposition if the tides and the weather are unfavourable.

The most common access point for paddlers to this area is Moosonee, at the southern end of James Bay. A campsite at Tidewater Provincial Park provides large campgrounds with firepits and outhouses on an island across the river from the town. Water taxis will ferry people back and forth for about C$20 each. Many of these rivers finish near Moosonee, and paddlers can take the Polar Bear Express train south to Cochrane at the end of a trip. This train regularly features a 'canoe car' enabling paddlers to travel with their canoes.

Waskaganish, Quebec, is a town farther to the north and east on James Bay. It is accessible via the James Bay Road, and is the most common end point for trips on the Broadback, Pontax, and Rupert rivers (the town itself is situated at the mouth of the Rupert).

References[edit]

  1. ^ "James Bay". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  • ^ a b c d e f Tikkanen, Amy. "James Bay". Encyclopedia Britannia. University of Chicago. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  • ^ "Baie James". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  • ^ "Sustainable Development in the Hudson Bay / James Bay Bioregion". Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  • ^ Beluga whales in James Bay: a separate entity from eastern Hudson Bay belugas?
  • ^ Southern James Bay Migratory Bird Sanctuary fact sheet[permanent dead link]
  • Further reading[edit]

    • Dignard, N. Habitats of the Northeast Coast of James Bay. [Canada]: Environment Canada, Canada Wildlife Service, 1991. ISBN 0-662-18947-7
  • Francis, Daniel, and Toby Elaine Morantz. Partners in Furs A History of the Fur Trade in Eastern James Bay, 1600-1870. Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-7735-0385-4
  • Kenyon, Walter Andrew. The History of James Bay, 1610-1686 A Study in Historical Archaeology. Archaeology monograph, 10. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Royal Ontario Museum, 1986. ISBN 0-88854-316-6
  • McCutcheon, Sean. Electric Rivers The Story of the James Bay Project. Montréal: Black Rose Books, 1991. ISBN 1-895431-18-2
  • Niezen, Ronald. Defending the Land Sovereignty and Forest Life in James Bay Cree Society. Cultural Survival studies in ethnicity and change. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. ISBN 0-205-27580-X
  • Reed, Austin. Goose use of the coastal habitats of northeastern James Bay. Ottawa, Ont: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1996. ISBN 0-662-25033-8
  • Salisbury, Richard Frank. A Homeland for the Cree Regional Development in James Bay, 1971-1981. Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-7735-0550-4
  • Siy, Alexandra. The Eeyou People of Eastern James Bay. New York: Dillon Press, 1993. ISBN 0-87518-549-5
  • External links[edit]


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Bay&oldid=1230263953"

    Categories: 
    James Bay
    Landforms of Nord-du-Québec
    Bays of Ontario
    Bays of Qikiqtaaluk Region
    Bays of Quebec
    Bays of the Atlantic Ocean
    Canadian Arctic Archipelago
    Landforms of Cochrane District
    Bays of the Arctic Ocean
    Hidden categories: 
    Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
    All articles with dead external links
    Articles with dead external links from November 2017
    Articles with permanently dead external links
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Articles lacking in-text citations from September 2013
    All articles lacking in-text citations
    Coordinates on Wikidata
    Articles using infobox body of water without alt
    Articles using infobox body of water without pushpin map alt
    Articles using infobox body of water without image bathymetry
    Articles containing French-language text
    Articles containing Cree-language text
    Commons category link from Wikidata
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with GND identifiers
    Articles with J9U identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 21 June 2024, at 18:01 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki