Muskoka Watershed Information

LOCATION AND SIZE

Muskoka River Sub-Watersheds
Muskoka River Sub-Watersheds

The Muskoka River watershed is located on the eastern side of Georgian Bay within the heart of Ontario's central vacation land. The headwaters of the river arise on the western slopes of Algonquin Park, and flow southwesterly for a distance of approximately 210 km to discharge into the southeast corner of Georgian Bay. The watershed measures over 62 km at its widest point and is approximately 120 km long, encompassing an area of approximately 466,000 hectares (4660 km2). Some of the communities within the watershed include Dwight, Dorset, Baysville, Huntsville, Port Sydney, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Bala, Port Carling, and MacTier. The watershed is divided into three subwatersheds: the North and South Branches, and the Lower Muskoka subwatersheds. The North and South Branches comprise approximately the eastern two-thirds of the watershed, originating in the highlands of Algonquin Park they flow southwesterly until converging south of Bracebridge and then flowing into Lake Muskoka. The Lower Muskoka subwatershed covers approximately the western one-third of the watershed, and receives the inflow from the North and South Branches as well as Lakes Joseph and Rosseau. This combined flow passes through the Moon and Musquash Rivers and discharges into Georgian Bay.

LAKES AND RIVERS

Over 2000 lakes (about 78,000 hectares of lakes) have been carved out of the Precambrian Shield, and cover over 17% of the watershed. The Muskoka River flows southwesterly through a series of lakes (Kawagama, Lake of Bays, Vernon, Peninsula, Fairy, Mary, Skeleton, Three Mile, Rousseau, Joseph, Muskoka and Bala Reach among others) and connecting river reaches to empty into the southeast corner of Georgian Bay. Principal tributaries of these branches include the Hollow, Oxtongue, Buck and East Rivers. The three largest lakes in the watershed are Lake Muskoka (11,579 ha), Lake of Bays (6,763 ha) and Lake Rosseau (6,258 ha). The second largest tributary to Lake Muskoka is the Indian River, flowing out of Lake Rosseau at Port Carling. The Muskoka River descends approximately 345 m in elevation along its 210 km journey from its headwaters to its mouth at Georgian Bay.