Abbott's Guide to Ottawa and Vicinity/Chaudiere Falls
CHAUDIERE FALLS.
A little more than 100 years ago Heriot wrote thus in his "Travels through Canada": "A waterfall occupies the breadth of the river, and dashing over a rugged and irregular cliff, of about 30 feet in altitude, exhibits to the view of the traveller, in the midst of a territory where dreary solitude prevails, an object at once brilliant, enlivening and picturesque. Part of the river here diverging into a contrary channel assumes a retrograde course, and pours into a basin, whose waters entirely disappear, but have probably a subterraneous communication with the channel farther down." Francis Parkman's description of the explorer Champlain's first sight of the falls is given in full on page 6.
It is said that the falls were formerly 60 feet in height at high water, and that the volume of water was equal to that of Niagara Falls. At the present time both the amount of water and the height of the falls are very considerably reduced in summer time owing to the extensive use of the water for power purposes. The Indians gave the falls the name of "Canajo," meaning kettle, now known by its French translation "Chaudiere," the origin of the name being the seething caldron caused by the fall of the water.