Annapolis River

The Annapolis River (Rivière Annapolis or Rivière du Dauphin) is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.

Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Caribou Bog (50 m [160 ft] above sea level) near the villages of Aylesford and Berwick in western Kings County, to its mouth near Clementsport where it empties into the Annapolis Basin. The estuary portion of the Annapolis River runs from Bridgetown to near Clementsport and experiences a tidal range of approximately 7.5 m (25 ft) between tides. The eastern part of the Annapolis Valley is drained by the Cornwallis River, also rising in the Caribou Bog, which has been dated to 10,000 years old. According to estimates by the Province of Nova Scotia, there were 31,877 people resident within the Annapolis River watershed in 2011. The river flows through some of the most productive agricultural land in the province. The comparatively mild micro-climate produced by the valley's North and South mountain ranges, as well as its proximity to the waters of the Bay of Fundy make the region ideal for fruit crops such as apples. The indigenous Mi'kmaq people, who had occupied the area for thousands of years, called the river Te'wapskik, meaning "flowing out between high rocks." The Annapolis River's importance in history is evident through its use as a transportation corridor in early Acadia after Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts established the Habitation at Port-Royal on the north bank of the river's mouth in 1605. Champlain's map of 1609 showed the river as being named "Rivière du Dauphin". A British attack in 1710 saw this part of Acadia fall from French hands. An Acadian settlement at the mouth of Allains Creek, ten kilometres upriver from Port Royal, was renamed Annapolis Royal, in honour of the reigning monarch, Queen Anne. The river was also given the name Annapolis at this time. After France relinquished the part of Acadia which is now peninsular Nova Scotia to Britain in 1713, Annapolis Royal became the capital of the British colony of Nova Scotia until 1749; Fort Anne was esta

Flows through: Canada.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.