Pukaskwa River
river in Northern Ontario, Canada
The Pukaskwa River is a river in Thunder Bay District and Algoma District in Northern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin and is a tributary of Lake Superior, which it enters at the south end of Pukaskwa National Park. It is a remote, pristine, free-flowing, medium-sized Shield river, with lots of whitewater, best travelled in spring.
A waterfall at Schist Falls, just upstream of the river mouth and with a drop of 24 metres (79 ft), can only be visited by travelling along the river.
The river's name is said to come from the Ojibwa word "Pukasu", which refers to cooking the marrow in the bones of animals. The legend is that a native of the area is said to have killed his wife, burned the bones and thrown them into the river.
The Pukaskwa River was featured in the artwork and films of Bill Mason, including Waterwalker (1984).
Geography
The river begins at Gibson Lake which straddles the border between Algoma District and Thunder Bay District. The river exits the lake in Algoma District, travels southwest into Thunder Bay District and into Jarvey Lake, which also straddles the border. It passes into Algoma District then back into Thunder Bay District before leaving Jarvey Lake at the south west heading in a southwest direction.
The public source identifies “Pukaskwa River” as river in Northern Ontario, Canada. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pukaskwa, River and river.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Pukaskwa River”, the useful work is to connect “river in Northern Ontario, Canada” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7259088. Authority coordinates are 48.004, -85.892. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1984.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pukaskwa River”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pukaskwa River primary sources, Pukaskwa River archive and Pukaskwa research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pukaskwa River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.