Duck in the River

by Maciek Froncisz

Title

Duck in the River

Artist

Maciek Froncisz

Medium

Mixed Media - Digital Fractal

Description

DUCK IN THE RIVER - Paintography based on digital photography by Maciek Froncisz.

The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The Thames flows west 273 kilometres through southwestern Ontario, from the Town of Tavistock westward through the cities of Woodstock and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair, its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres. Known as Deshkan Ziibi in Anishnaabemowin, the Ojibwe language spoken by Anishnaabe peoples, who together with the Neutrals have lived in the area since before Europeans arrived. In 1793, the river was renamed after the River Thames in England by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. Much of the Thames is surrounded by deciduous Carolinian forests, although much of this forest has been removed to permit agriculture and other forms of development. There are three rivers in the watershed with Thames in the name—the Thames River itself, North Thames River, Middle Thames River; these are known locally as South Branch, North Branch, Middle Branch. The South Branch is the main stem Thames River and carries the Thames River name.
The Thames River and North Thames River on the upper part of the watershed flow through valleys created during the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age. The Thames River and North Thames River meet in central London at the "Forks"; the Middle Thames River runs north of the Thames River joining it west of Ingersoll. Downriver from London, the lower part of the river flows through a shallow plain of sand and clay, with an average depth of 1.2 metres. The lower Thames River flows through Delaware, Thamesville, as well as Chippewa and Oneida First Nations settlements. Tributaries of the Thames include the Avon River, Dingman Creek, Jeanettes Creek, McGregor Creek, Medway Creek, Pottersburg Creek, Stoney Creek, Trout Creek and Waubuno Creek. Three separate dams are used to control seasonal flooding in the watershed: Wildwood Dam, located on Trout Creek which flows into the North Thames River. A fourth dam at Springbank Park, downstream from the Forks, controlled water levels in central London from the 1870s until 2005 when it was closed for rehabilitation.
One of the Springbank Dam's gates failed in 2008, causing the dam to be locked in the open position, rehabilitation was delayed pending litigation between an engineering firm and the City of London. On January 9, 2018, London's civic works committee voted to decommission the Springbank Dam permanently; the river was the location of an important battle of the War of 1812. The Battle of the Thames was fought on October 5, 1813, between American General William Henry Harrison and British General Henry Proctor, along with Proctor's ally Tecumseh. Chief Tecumseh was killed in the battle. On May 25, 1881, the river steamer ` Victoria' sank killing 182 passengers. After the disaster all ferries could only carry their maximum capacity. In the early morning hours of July 11, 1883, London flooded from heavy rainfall; the ferry "Princess Louise" was forced over Waterworks Dam and capsized killing 7. On August 25, 1899, the propeller-boat "Thames" was set on fire and sunk only feet from Waterworks Dam. On April 27, 1937, the Thames River reached an all-time high of 21.5 feet above normal flow resulting in 5 deaths and over 1000 homes being damaged.
On August 13, 1950, a launch killed four passengers. On August 14, 2000, the Thames River was designated a Canadian Heritage River. During the weekend of February 24-25, 2018, abnormally persistent rains caused significant flooding along the banks of the river. Extensive property damage was observed in nearby Thamesville.

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April 22nd, 2020

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