Height of Land Portage
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The portage adjoins the cleared boundary vista, the faint vertical line crossing the isthmus between the lakes. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of
Nearest city:	Grand Marais, Minnesota
Added to NRHP:	October 18, 1974
NRHP Reference#:	74001012[1]
Governing body:	U.S. Forest Service

There is another Height of Land Portage in Embarrass, Minnesota. Grand Marais is a city in Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar.

Height of Land Portage is a portage along the historic Boundary Waters route between Canada and the United States. Portage refers to the practice of carrying a Canoe or other Boat over land to avoid an obstacle on the water route (such as Rapids or a Waterfall The Boundary Waters is a region of Wilderness straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario and Minnesota, in the region Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Located at the border of the Canadian province of Ontario and the US State of Minnesota, the path is a relatively easy crossing of the Laurentian Divide separating the watersheds of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country in total area. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers The Laurentian Divide or Northern Divide is a Continental divide dividing the direction of water flow in eastern and southern Canada and the northern A drainage divide, water divide, divide or (outside North America) watershed is the line separating neighbouring Drainage basins The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major It was used for centuries for canoe travel by the First Nations, and the historic route of which it was a part became a preindustrial thoroughfare giving the voyageurs access to the fur trading posts in western Canada. A canoe is a small narrow Boat, typically human-powered though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors First Nations is a term of Ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis people A coureur des bois (runner of the woods was an individual who engaged in the Fur trade without permission from the French authorities The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal Fur. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For many years the portage was part of an important route from Lower Canada to the interior of the North American continent. The Province of Lower Canada (French Province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the It became part of the boundary between British North America and the United States following the American Revolution and treaties delineating the border. British North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" In recognition of this history, the portage is on the U. S. National Register of Historic Places, and is a Minnesota State Historic Site. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of ^[2]

Located in La Verendrye Provincial Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the unspoiled country along the international boundary, the portage retains its traditional use, but for recreational canoe trips rather than commerce. La Verendrye Provincial Park is a waterway Provincial park located in Ontario, Canada, on the border of Minnesota, USA. The Boundary

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Inclusion in international border 4 References

Geography

The portage, 80 rods (about 400 m) long, crosses a low saddle between North Lake and South Lake. The rod is a unit of Length equal to 55 Yards 11 Cubits 50292 Meters 16 ^[3] It adjoins the boundary vista, a cleared strip which marks the Canada – United States border between those lakes. ^[4] South Lake is the source of the Arrow River, tributary to the Pigeon River, which flows east to Lake Superior, other Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. The Pigeon River forms part of the US - Canada border between the State of Minnesota and the Province of Ontario west of Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Saint Lawrence River (in French: fleuve Saint-Laurent; Kahnawáˀkye in Tuscarora, Kaniatarowanenneh meaning big waterway North Lake is in the watershed of the Rainy River, which drains by way of the Winnipeg and Nelson Rivers to Hudson Bay. The Rainy River (French Rivière à la Pluie) is a river approximately 85 mi (140 km that forms part of the U The Winnipeg River is a Canadian River which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in the province The Nelson River is a River of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. ^[5]

According to the Canada/US International Boundary Commission Ontario's boundaries with the United States run 2700 kilometers on water and only about one kilometer on land. ^[6] The 80-rod Height of Land Portage is a significant part of the land border; the remainder is along two other portages, Watap Portage (100 rods) a short distance to its east, and Swamp (or Monument) Portage (~ 72–80 rods) to the west in the BWCA and Quetico Provincial Park. Quetico Provincial Park is a large Wilderness park in northwestern Ontario, Canada, renowned for its excellent canoeing and Fishing ^[7][8][9]

History

The Height of Land Portage may have had its origin as a route for foraging or migrating animals. Historians believe that many portages started as animal tracks, and were later used by the early inhabitants of the area. Prior to the Contact Period (when peoples of the First Nations first encountered European explorers), those natives had long used birchbark canoes as the principal means of travel in the thick boreal forest of the Quetico-Superior area. First Nations is a term of Ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis people Birch bark or birchbark is generally understood to be the Bark of the Paper Birch tree ( Betula papyrifera) or sometimes of related species such The Height of Land Portage likely was used by those peoples. ^[10]

The search for the Northwest Passage, the fur trade, and missionary activity brought European travelers to the area. The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal Fur. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. La Verendrye had "discovered" this native route in 1732, when he used it to reach Rainy Lake. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes sieur de La Vérendrye ( November 17, 1685 &ndash December 5, 1749) was a French Canadian military officer Rainy Lake (French lac à la Pluie is a relatively large lake (345 sq mi or 894 km² that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. In the latter part of the Eighteenth Century it was used by voyageurs of the French-Canadian fur brigades as their main route from Grand Portage on Lake Superior to the pays d'en haut, the "upper country" beyond the height of land separating the Great Lakes from the fur country in the Northwest. Grand Portage National Monument, located within the Boreal forest on the north shore Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. A drainage divide, water divide, divide or (outside North America) watershed is the line separating neighbouring Drainage basins ^[10] At one time there was a refitting station on the west end of the portage where canoes were repaired. ^[11]

Voyageurs coming to for the first time to the pays d'en haut were initiated after crossing the portage. Each newcomer would be sprinkled with a cedar bough dipped in water, and be made to swear that he would never kiss another voyageur's wife without her consent and would not allow another novice to pass that way without undergoing similar rites. Concluding the ceremony with a gunfire salute and drinks of "high wine" (a type of rum), the new Nor'wester and his company would resume their journey. ^[12][13]

Inclusion in international border

Following the American Revolution the Treaty of Paris set the international boundary between British North America and the United States along the line of water communication between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, and approved by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784, formally British North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary Lake of the Woods (lac des Bois is a Lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U ^[10] During the era of exploration there were three principal routes used by canoe brigades to connect these two lakes, all of which crossed the divide separating western Lake Superior from the Hudson Bay watershed:

• the Grand Portage route to Rainy Lake, which used the portage described in this article;
• to the east, the Kam–Dog–Maligne route used by early French explorer Jacques de Noyon in 1688, which headed north from the lake at the site of Fort William, Ontario up the Kaministiquia and Dog Rivers to Cold Water Lake, crossed the divide by Prairie Portage to Height of Land Lake, then went west by way of the Savanne, Pickerel, and Maligne Rivers to Lake La Croix where it joined the Grand Portage route; and
• to the west, the St. Jacques de Noyon (1668 &ndash 1745 was a French Canadian explorer and Coureur des bois. Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. The Kaministiquia River (ˌkæmɪˈnɪstɪkwa is a Canadian River which empties into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay Louis–Vermilion route, which went from Lake Superior at Fond du Lac (the "head of the lake") near modern Duluth, Minnesota, up the St. Louis and Embarrass Rivers, across the height of land (by a portage which also bears the name Height of Land Portage) to Pike River and Lake Vermilion, then down the Vermilion River to the Grand Portage route. Duluth is a Port City in the US state of Minnesota and the County seat of St The St Louis River is a river in the US State of Minnesota that flows into Lake Superior. ^[10][5]

Britain asserted that the westernmost St. Louis–Vermilion route was the usual line of water communications, while the United States advocated the easternmost Kam–Dog–Maligne Route. ^[7] Following surveys in the early Nineteenth Century, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 fixed the route along the Pigeon River and the Height of Land Portage between North and South Lakes. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, settled the dispute over the location of the Maine - New Brunswick border between the ^[10][14]

Since then the portage has been recognized as part of the border. "Free and open to the use of the citizens and subjects of both countries",^[14] it continues in its historic use as a footpath for the overland transport of canoes across the divide separating the Great Lakes Basin from the Canadian northwest. The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota

References

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