Winisk River

Winisk River, 475 km long, rises in Wunnummin Lake in the Kenora District of northern Ontario. It first flows eastward through Nibinamik, Wapikopa and Winisk lakes before flowing northeast into Hudson Bay. The Hudson's Bay Company built Fort Weenisk at the mouth of the river in 1820. It was renamed Winisk in 1947. The name is from a Cree word meaning "groundhog" or "woodchuck." In 1986 the community was completely destroyed by a flood that also claimed 2 lives. The community was rebuilt upstream on higher ground and renamed Peawanuck. The river drains an area of 67 300 km², most of it uninhabited.