The New International Encyclopædia/Great Fish River (Canada)

GREAT FISH, or BACK, RIVER. A river of Mackenzie and Keewatin, Dominion of Canada, rising in a small lake near the north shore of Lake Aylmer (Map: Canada, K 9). It flows through lakes Beechy, Pelley, and Garry, and enters the Arctic Ocean by a wide estuary, off the entrance to which is King William Land, after a northeast course of about 500 miles. It was explored in 1834-35 by Sir George Back (q.v.), who describes the Ah-hel-Dessy, or Parry Falls, on one of the tributaries, as “surpassing Niagara Falls in splendor of effect.” Montreal Island, in the estuary, has a melancholy interest in connection with the discovery of the final relics of Franklin in 1859.