Albany

Geography

The Albany River is the boundary between Kenora District to the north and the Thunder Bay and Cochrane Districts to the south.

The river begins at Lake St. Joseph at an elevation of 371 metres (1,217 ft). and flows over the Rat Rapids dam and under Ontario Highway 599 into Osnaburgh Lake. From there it flows via a Main Channel (northern) and South Channel around Kagami Island northeast, and takes in the right tributary Misehkow River and left tributary Etowamami River. The river continues over the Upper Eskakwa Falls, takes in the right tributary Shabuskwia River, and travels over the Eskakwa Falls and Snake Falls.

The river empties into the Akimiski Strait on James Bay via a series of channels.

History

Since the Albany extends far to the west, its mouth is a natural site for a trading post. See Canadian canoe routes. Trade in the area was long contested by the English from Hudson Bay and the French on the Great Lakes. Much of the Albany basin was visited by coureurs des bois long before the English penetrated inland. In 1674 Charles Bayly of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) became the first European to see the Albany. Sometime before 1679 the HBC founded Fort Albany at the mouth of the river. In 1685 the French built Fort des Français at the future site of Henley House. In 1743 Henley House was established 260 kilometres (160 mi) upriver at the mouth of the Kenogami River.