Portage

Add another image

Edit link to video

Edit map  zoom  zoom out

Edit text   |   Edit all fields

The portage, from the french word meaning "the carry", is an overland route linking one portion of a water route to another. The portage was indispensable to early inhabitants of North America and to fur traders who relied upon water routes for transportation, communication, hunting and commerce. Portages can range from a few metres in length to several kilometers.

When planning a route that includes portages, pay close attention to not only distance but also elevation and other topography. For example, are you looking at a 200m portage over level, dry land, or a 200m portage up the side of a ravine?

The Lavase Portage, near North Bay, Ontario, Canada, is a 10 kilometre portage which links the Mattawa River to Lake Nipissing, thereby relaying the St. Lawrence River (Ottawa River watershed) with the Great Lakes (Lake Huron watershed) and the great hinterland beyond. This portage was an arduous but key link which Samuel de Champlain and other early explorers exploited to access the Great Lakes and the western regions of what is now North America.