Provincial Watersheds, Historical

Note: This data has been replaced by the [Ontario Watershed Boundaries (OWB)](https://geohub.lio.gov.on.ca/datasets/mnrf::ontario-watershed-boundaries-owb). We are no longer updating this data. It is best suited for historical research and analysis. A watershed, also known as a catchment basin, includes all land that is drained by a watercourse and its tributaries. Watersheds are split into four categories: * primary * secondary * tertiary * quaternary These divisions are based on the federal framework originally known as the Water Resources Index Inventory Filing System. Ontario has 3 primary watersheds: * Great Lakes – St. Lawrence * Southwestern Hudson Bay * Nelson River Secondary watersheds are subdivisions of primary watersheds in Ontario. Most secondary divisions are either large river systems or groupings of small coastal streams. Tertiary watersheds are subdivisions of secondary watersheds in Ontario. Quaternary watersheds are subdivisions of tertiary watersheds. There are more than 1000 quaternary watersheds in Ontario.

Date ( RI_367 ): 2021-02-08

Date ( RI_366 ): 2021-02-08

RI_414

Government of Ontario; Government of Ontario; Natural Resources and Forestry - ( )

Status: onGoing; enContinue RI_596

Maintenance and update frequency: notPlanned; nonPlanifié RI_542

Keywords ( RI_528 )

environment
environment and energy
Environment and Natural Resources
watershed

Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Thésaurus des sujets de base du gouvernement du Canada ( RI_528 )

Government information

Use limitation: Open Government Licence – Ontario (https://www.ontario.ca/page/open-government-licence-ontario)

Access constraints: license; licence RI_606

Use constraints: license; licence RI_606

Spatial representation type: vector; vecteur RI_635

Metadata language: eng; CAN

Metadata language: fra; CAN

Topic category

Economy

Begin date: 2010-01-01

End date: 2015-03-01

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Reference system identifier: unknown / unknown / unknown

Distribution format

PDF ( unknown )
ZIP ( unknown )

RI_414

Government of Ontario; Government of Ontario; Natural Resources and Forestry - ( )

OnLine resource: Watershed - User Guide ( HTTPS )
Supporting Document;PDF;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Primary (Shapefile) | Bassins versants primaires (Fichier de formes) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Primary (File Geodatabase) | Bassins versants primaires (Géodatabase fichier) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Secondary (Shapefile) | Bassins versants secondaires (Fichier de formes) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Secondary (File Geodatabase) | Bassins versants secondaires (Géodatabase fichier) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Tertiary (Shapefile) | Bassins versants tertiaires (Fichier de formes) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Watershed, Tertiary (File Geodatabase | Bassins versants tertiaires (Géodatabase fichier) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Quaternary watershed boundaries (Shapefile) | Limites des bassins hydrographiques quaternaires (Fichier de formes) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Quaternary watershed boundaries (File Geodatabase) | Limites des bassins hydrographiques quaternaires (Géodatabase fichier) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Far North Quaternary Watersheds (Shapefile) | Bassins hydrographiques quaternaires du Grand Nord (Fichier de formes) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

OnLine resource: Far North Quaternary Watersheds (File Geodatabase) | Bassins hydrographiques quaternaires du Grand Nord (Géodatabase fichier) ( HTTPS )
Dataset;ZIP;eng

File identifier: 61c188ec-a939-4acd-9b06-8fe9b017b70c XML

Metadata language: eng; CAN

Character set: utf8; utf8 RI_458

Hierarchy level: dataset; jeuDonnées RI_622

Date stamp: 2025-04-01

Metadata standard name: North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 - Geographic information - Metadata

Metadata standard version: HNAP ISO:19115 - 2003

RI_414

Government of Ontario; Government of Ontario; Natural Resources and Forestry - ( )

Overviews

Spatial extent

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Provided by

Associated resources

Not available