James Bay () is a large body of water on the southern end of
Hudson Bay in
Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the
Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of
Quebec and
Ontario; islands within the bay (the largest of which is
Akimiski Island) are part of
Nunavut. The James Bay watershed is the site of several major
hydroelectric projects, and is also a destination for river-based recreation. Several communities are located near or alongside James Bay, including a number of
Aboriginal communities such as the
Kashechewan First Nation and nine communities affiliated with the
Crees of northern Quebec.
History
The bay first came to the attention of Europeans in 1610, when
Henry Hudson entered it during his exploration of the larger bay that bears his name. James Bay itself received its name in honour of
Thomas James, an English
captain who explored the area more thoroughly in 1630 – 1631.
James Bay is important in the
history of Canada as one of the most hospitable parts of the Hudson Bay region (despite its low human population), and as a result its corresponding importance to the
Hudson's Bay Company and
British expansion into Canada. The fur-trapping duo of explorers
Pierre-Esprit Radisson and
Médard des Groseilliers convinced the English Crown, primarily
Prince Rupert of Bavaria, a favoured cousin of both
Charles I and
Charles II, that a colonial enterprise in
the north would yield wealth in minerals and fur. Des Groseilliers accompanied Captain Zachariah Gillam on the
ketch Nonsuch and they jointly founded the first fur-trading post on James Bay, Charles Fort. Their success, though lacking in minerals, was such that the company was chartered by Charles II on their return. This charter granted a complete trading monopoly of the whole
Hudson Bay basin (including James Bay) to the company. At the same time, the first English colony on what is now mainland Canada,
Rupert's Land, was formed, with the first "capital" being at Charles Fort. The fact that the first colonial governor, Charles Baley (various spellings exist, including, but not limited to "Bailey"), was a
Quaker might have been an important factor in the style of relations established between the company and its "trading partners", Canada's
First Nations.
Significant fur trapping has continued in the region, but in general the east coast or East Main of James Bay was too easily accessed by French and independent traders from the south so early Hudson's Bay Company emphasis was quickly placed onto interior trapping grounds reached from the west coasts of James and Hudson Bays. It was, nevertheless, the gateway to British settlements in what would become
Manitoba (
Winnipeg, for example) and as far west as the
Rocky Mountains.
Geography
Hannah Bay at the southern end of James Bay.
James Bay represents the southern extent of the
Arctic Archipelago Marine ecozone, while the coastal areas are primarily in the
Hudson Plains, whereas the northeastern coast bordering Quebec is in the
Taiga Shield ecozone. The eastern shores of the bay form the western edge of the
Canadian Shield in Quebec. As such, the terrain here is rocky and hilly with
boreal forest. The western shore is characterised by broad
tundra lowlands that are an extension of the
Hudson Bay Lowlands. Its vegetation is mostly
muskeg. A large portion of this area is part of the
Polar Bear Provincial Park.
Hundreds of rivers flow into James Bay. The geography of the area gives many of them similar characteristics. They tend to be wide and shallow near the Bay (in the James Bay Lowlands), whereas they are steeper and narrower further upstream (as they pour off the
Canadian Shield). For a larger list of waterways in the region, see
list of Hudson Bay rivers.
Hannah Bay
Hannah Bay is the southernmost bay of James Bay. Here the
Kesagami and
Harricana Rivers flow into James Bay. About 238 km
2 is protected under the
Migratory Birds Convention Act of Canada as the
Hannah Bay Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary has also been designated as a
Wetland of International Importance under the
Ramsar Convention since May 1987.
The shores in this area are a mixture of intertidal
mud, sand, and
salt flats,
estuarine waters, intertidal
marshes, freshwater ponds,
swamps, and forested
peatlands.
Human development
Coastal communities
The shores of James Bay are sparsely populated. On the eastern shore in Quebec there are four coastal communities belonging to the
Crees, the
indigenous people of the region (from south to north):
On the western shore in Ontario there are five coastal communities (from south to north):
Economic development
James Bay has returned to prominence in recent decades due to the
James Bay hydroelectric project. Since 1971, the
government of Quebec has built
hydroelectric dams on rivers in the James Bay watershed, notably
La Grande and
Eastmain rivers. Built between 1974 and 1996, now has a combined generating capacity of 16,021
MW and produces about 83,000,000,000
kWh of electricity each year, about half of Quebec's consumption. Power is also exported to the
United States via a direct transmission high voltage line. The James Bay Project continues to expand, with work beginning in 2007 on a new phase that involves the diversion of the
Rupert River.
A proposed development project, the
Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal, centres on constructing a large
dike to separate southern James Bay from Hudson Bay. This would turn the bay into a freshwater lake, due to the numerous rivers that empty into it. The main benefit expected from this would be to redirect this freshwater for human use. It seems very unlikely that the GRAND Canal will actually ever be built.
Recreation
Canoeing
Many of the rivers flowing into James Bay are popular destinations for wilderness canoe-trippers. Among the more popular rivers are:
- Rupert River (Quebec) - to be diverted in 2007 for hydroelectric development
Two less-travelled rivers are the Groundhog River and the
Harricana. The Groundhog is less travelled in modern times due to a series of seven dams that are about a day or two up-river from the Moose. Canoeists can contact the dam company and arrange to be towed around the dams on company trucks, but they must make arrangements specific to the hour, and they cannot be late. The Groundhog flows into the
Mattagami after a set of
rapids known as Seven-Mile. The Mattagami then flows into the Moose; it is at the meeting of the Missinaibi and Mattagami rivers that the Moose river begins, marked by an island known as Portage Island. This point is about two or three days travel by canoe to Moosonee. Though the Missinaibi and the Groundhog are both fairly high in the summer, the Moose is often quite low. Depending on the tides, groups have had to walk long stretches of the river. Rapids on the Groundhog tend to be bigger and more technical than those on the Missinaibi, but the campsites are few and poor, because the volume of travel is so much less.
The Harricana River flows into James Bay several miles east of
Moosonee, so anyone wishing to take this route must allow about two days to cross the bay, an extremely dangerous proposition if the tides and the weather are unfavourable.
The most common access point for paddlers to this area is Moosonee, at the southern end of James Bay. A campsite at
Tidewater Provincial Park provides large campgrounds with firepits and outhouses on an island across the river from the town. Water taxis will ferry people back and forth for about
C$1 each. Many of these rivers finish near Moosonee, and paddlers can take the
Polar Bear Express train south to
Cochrane at the end of a trip.
Waskaganish,
Quebec, is a town further to the north and east on James Bay. It is accessible via the
James Bay Road, and is the most common end point for trips on the Broadback, Pontax, and Rupert rivers (the town itself is situated at the mouth of the Rupert).
