Amanda L. Hooykaas   Winter 2007

An Overview
The Trent-Severn Waterway is a historic channel that links Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. Today it is primarily used by recreational (pleasure) boaters and, due to this, there is very little information available for individuals who would like to paddle the distance. Being a paddler myself, and living in close proximity to the northwestern portion of the canal system, I have been intrigued by the possibility of paddling the entire waterway. I am in the process of creating a field institute for university students and am considering using the Trent-Severn Waterway one of my target areas. Though perhaps not as environmentally rich as some lesser-utilized areas, the geography of the Trent-Severn Waterway is rich in history and culture, and paddling it would be a great learning opportunity for university students. In having created a map for Trent-Severn Waterway paddlers, I have produced a product that outlines a 15-day trip (with 15-40 kilometer paddling days), along with some highlights along the route, and important evacuation information (hospitals, major roads, etc.), should the need arise. I am excited by the final product and have every intention to paddle the route in the next year or two.

I began with a blank slate, as available maps  were not very useful and lacked the detail that I required. I did a lot of research and the resulting data forced me to head…trade;s up digitize the Waterway and then manually add my own details. I then worked out what was a manageable distance per day (which ranged from 15-45 kilometers), and identified established campsites, potential campsites, and shoreline features that would be utilized during the academic portion of the course/paddling route. The final product includes approximately 10 layers of data, which is coded, thus providing more detail than is visible in a paper (or PDF) version. Much of what was done was moving from conceptualization to reality, and the bulk of the work is therefore not readily evident, but is very much included in the end result.

Double-Click Image to Open PDF map. (pdf - 923k)

GIS Lab Contact:
Gordon Longsworth, glongsworth@coa.edu, 207-288-2944, extension 277